Page 22

22

DAILY MULTIVITAMIN WITH EXTRA IRON

Jack

E mma’s fingers tangled in my hair when she calls out my name is nothing short of fucking unbelievable.

Not that I can tell her that since my tongue is in its new favorite place—glued to her clit.

I force her thighs high and wide to extend her orgasm.

We’re not on her dad’s sofa and we put off shacking up at Levi and Carissa’s until Knox comes home. Mom offered me her guest room, which was also a big, fat fucking no thank you.

There aren’t a lot of hotels out here in the boonies, but I couldn’t book a room fast enough.

It’s no Nebula, that’s for sure.

It’s not even a boutique hotel.

It’s a chain, which I do not do unless it’s a five star. Once I started landing endorsements for my clients, I swore I was done staying at mediocre hotels. During football season, I’m on the road almost every week, and I’ve come to like nice shit.

But tonight, we’re at a chain, and I don’t give a shit. It’s clean, and my tongue is rooting for Emma to be as loud as possible.

She pulls at my roots before her fingers go limp as the rest of her body follows.

I give her clit one last swipe and lick my lips but don’t move.

I gaze up her bare body and enjoy the view. “You’re fucking beautiful.”

Her breaths are shallow as she lies there spent. “You’re relentless.”

“When it comes to you, I am.” I press my lips to the inside of her thigh before crawling up her body. “There was no way I could go another day without having you just like this.”

Her tits rise and fall as she recuperates from her orgasm. I press her into the mattress and fit the underside of my bare cock, hard as a rock, to her pussy.

She’s slick and wet and warm.

I’ve never had a woman bare. Never been with anyone that I wanted that with. Hell, I’ve never been with a woman I’ve trusted wholly.

Before I made it in this industry, the last thing I needed was an accidental pregnancy or STD.

And after I was successful, the last thing I needed was a woman trapping me with a not-so accidental pregnancy.

And let’s just say STDs don’t give a shit what your financial portfolio looks like.

Women know women. Mom and Grandma were in my face about all the ways they could trap a man. That shit lives rent free in my brain.

Which makes it monumental that every cell in my body wants nothing more than to slide bare inside Emma.

There has been lots of sex in the last week, and not one conversation that should be had when it comes to giving into my desires.

I rub my cock up and down her wet pussy as she drags a bare foot up my hamstring and tell her the truth, even if it does show her how obsessed I am. “Do you know how much I want to throw caution to the wind and take you just like this? Feel you inside and out with nothing between us. It’s all I can think about.”

Her dark eyes blink in slow motion, and her fingertips trace my jaw. “Given the fact you have a lot on your plate right now, I’m honored.”

I press my cock into her still-swollen clit and enjoy the shutter of her body since I’m pressed to her everywhere. “You should be. I’ve never done that before.”

Her expression comes alive a notch. “You’re a bare virgin?”

I fight the desire to rub up and down on her again. At this point, bare or not, I won’t last long if I don’t slow things down. “I didn’t know there was a name for it. I guess I am.”

She traces my bottom lip with the tip of her index finger. “Then we have that in common. I, too, am a virgin when it comes to sex the way it was meant to be. Just two people with nothing between them. I’ve never wanted to.”

“Fuck, Em. Now I want to take you bare more than ever. We could be each other’s firsts.”

“Jack Hale, taking another one of my firsts.” She leans up and kisses my jaw. “You’re greedy.”

“And you’re not giving me a reason not to slide inside you the way we were born to do.”

“Oh, the awkward conversation. I’ve never had one of these before.”

I slide my hand down the side of her body until I tag her around the back of her knee and yank it up my side to open her wider. “Since you’re a bare virgin, I’m glad.”

“I’m clean, and I’m on the pill. Your turn.”

Iron Man has nothing on me. That’s how hard my cock is from this conversation. I’ve never wanted anyone as bad as I do her right now.

“I’m clean and I take a daily multivitamin with extra iron.”

“There you go one-upping me,” she mutters. “I don’t take an extra anything.”

“I win.” I press my lips to hers, kissing her slow and deep. Our hearts beat together, and I can’t help but press my hand to the side of her neck to feel her pulse.

It speeds.

I like that.

I angle my hips enough that my cock springs free between us. My tip rests where it’s meant to be.

Where it’s fucking begging to be.

United with Emma. With nothing between us.

Fuck, I feel like a dirty Hallmark movie.

Her eyes fall shut, and her lips part.

“What’s my prize?” I demand.

She licks her lips as her eyes roam my features before her eyes reunite with mine. “Me. Just me. I want nothing between us.”

I rest my forearm above her head and brace.

Without looking away from her, I take her in one strong, deep thrust.

She gasps. “Jack.”

“I know,” I agree and don’t move. This is so new and different. “So this is what sex is supposed to feel like.”

“Only with you. We’re perfect.” Her eyes deepen with an emotion I recognize, even if it is new and something I’ve never experienced before.

I can’t take it another second. I want more. I need more

I pull out and push back in. “So fucking perfect.”

Her head falls back as her neck arches. She lifts her hips to meet me as I start to move in and out of her.

This is one more reason to tie me to Emma. The list is getting longer by the minute it seems.

My heart speeds as we move together. Each time with more force than the one before.

The energy between us is exponential. Some fucking mathematic equation that would make no sense to anyone but me.

And I can only hope…

Emma.

I’ve never needed someone else to match my level of whacked obsession. But I’m desperate for her to feel it just like me.

Our combined moans and bodies slapping is enough to push me over the edge.

Just before I’m about to let loose, her body tenses. Fingernails bite into my biceps, and my balls draw up.

I thrust into her two more times, then another, before I give her all my weight. We’re connected in every way possible as I press her into the mattress.

I don’t wait for us to catch our breaths. I lift my head and take her mouth.

When I let her go, I gaze down at her through the dim light of the basic hotel room. “There’s something about getting to know someone you already know everything about. I’m thinking things I’ve never thought before, Em. And things I should not be thinking after such a short time with you. You make my head spin, baby.”

She places her hand over my heart and presses in. “Right back at you. I’m not going to lie—it feels good and right … and it’s scary.”

I shake my head. “Let it feel good. Never be scared with me. I’m laying myself bare for you. And I don’t mean this.” I press my still-hard cock into her. I place my hand over hers on my heart. “I mean this. There’s nothing hidden when it comes to me. Of all the people in the world, baby, I would not have gone here with you if it didn’t mean something.”

“I believe you.” Her smile is small and her eyes glassy. “Who would’ve thought?”

The last person on earth I want to think about at this moment pops into my head.

Levi.

This might be a fantasy for me, but it very well could be his nightmare.

And since we’re going to see him at the party, I’m going to have to take care of that.

“Yeah,” I agree. “You’re a fucking dream, baby. And I’m not letting you go.”

Emma

“I think I need to pack a bag and leave it in your car. Now I’ve got to go home and do the whole walk of shame in front of my family. Not that they don’t know where I am. I am wearing a tracker.”

Jack looks from the mirror to me where I sit on the vanity watching him style his thick, dark hair. Mine is drying naturally as I sit here in his T-shirt and boxers. We slept in, ordered food, and watched sports news while lounging in bed.

He leans in and grabs the back of my neck and pulls me to him for a kiss. “I’ll take you shopping again if you want. I need to get a birthday gift anyway.”

I touch the screen on my phone. “We have two hours before the party. And with this group, it’ll go late into the evening. If Carissa doesn’t have an entire circus set up, I’ll be surprised.”

Jack grabs my cell from me and tosses it to the counter. He spreads my legs, pulls my ass to the edge, and presses his chest to mine. “You’ve checked your phone a million times since we got out of the shower. That doesn’t include since you opened your eyes this morning. He’ll call.”

I wrap my arms around him and dig my heels into his ass. “Like you haven’t talked to Brett almost as often since we woke up.”

He leans in and kisses the tip of my nose. “Since Brett’s arrest warrant was announced far and wide by the Vegas PD, I would argue that’s different. Let’s just say he’s been in Crew’s gym nonstop and still has steam to blow. He’s pissed.”

“It looks like Deep Throat is freaked too. The flames are getting warmer. He can’t disappear on us when we have a way of finding out who he is. I feel it in my heart that he wants to help.”

Jack shakes his head. “A lot of shit is balancing on the conscience of a guy who drugged and framed my client. I know you’re ready to trade friendship bracelets with this guy, so forgive me for guarding my heart in this situation.”

I can’t help but bite back my smile. “Guarding your heart? Have a little faith, Jack. I believe in Deep Throat.”

Jack hikes a cynical brow. “Then you’re a better person than me, which we both already knew. I can count on one hand the amount of people I believe in. You might’ve just rounded that out to number five.”

I lose my smile.

“What?” he asks. “Are you surprised?”

“Maybe,” I tell him the truth. “I don’t save lives like Levi or wipe terror from the world like my dad. I don’t even invest in young people like Keelie.”

His hand drops to my ass and slides inside the boxers I dug from his bag this morning for something clean to wear. I’m commando, so he has no trouble palming one cheek with a firm squeeze. “You stepped up to help when I needed you. So, yeah, you made the short list that includes my mom, grandma, your brother, and me.”

I lower my voice. “You made your own list?”

“I’m at the top of my own fucking list. I told you I don’t leave anything up to karma. I make my own fate.” He bops the tip of my nose with his index finger. “And I’ve decided that you, baby, are my fate. I’m just lucky you didn’t tell me to get lost when I tracked you down in Vegas.”

“And here I thought that was real fate.”

Jack shakes his head. “That was me seeing you run out onto that field in the middle of a frenzy, while all I could think about was kissing you in a barn that smelled like goats. There was nothing more I wanted right then than to recreate that kiss. But without the goats.”

I’m about to tell Jack that he’s grown into a man who hires personal shoppers and can afford the nicest of everything. He’s too fancy for goats.

But I don’t get the chance to state the obvious.

My cell vibrates on the counter next to us.

Finally.

Jack snatches it before I can and reads the two little words on the screen that make my heart skip a beat. “Unknown caller.”

“It’s him,” I whisper and grab the phone. I press go on the call and put it on speaker. “Hello?”

“Hollingsworth,” he bites. “I just saw the news. Sullivan has a warrant out for his arrest in Vegas. I told you where to look. What the hell have you been doing?”

My gaze darts to Jack. “I’m trying to figure it out. I can’t just walk into the lobby of the Founders offices and demand to know who tried to frame their quarterback. I’m doing all I can. More information from you would be nice.”

“Dammit.” He sighs. “The people who arranged this are dangerous. I’m trying to do the right thing, but they’ll come after me if they find out. You think that anyone gives a shit about some punk who’s willing to do some shady shit for a buck but feels bad about it after the fact? They’ll kill me and dump me in the Potomac so fast, I’ll never see it coming.”

Jack motions to me to keep the conversation going. I have no idea how long Ozzy Graves needs to track this call.

I do what I’m good at and keep talking. “You’re really caught in the middle, but the fact you keep calling me tells me that you care about doing the right thing. As you can tell, I haven’t said a word to anyone who would compromise you. Please, you have all the answers. I’ve proven you can trust me. Meet with me. Let’s figure out a way to get to the bottom of this, clear Brett’s name, and keep you out of it. There’s only so much I can do on my own. I need more help.”

“It’s not like the boss hands me a background file of his customers. He offers me a job, and I take it. All I know is you’re not digging deep enough.”

“If you can’t help, then why are you calling me?”

“Because you’re not doing enough!” he bellows.

Jack grips my hip tighter when the unknown caller growls through the phone at me, but I can’t focus on that.

A text pops up at the top of my screen.

Ozzy – I got a hit on the line. Good job, Emma. You can hang up whenever you want.

I look up at Jack and smile but keep my tone even when I keep talking. “I won’t stop—I promise. Can you tell me one thing?”

“This is going nowhere,” he says. “I’m hanging up.”

“No, wait,” I beg. “Please confirm one thing for me. Did these orders come from Mark Morse? Because right now, that’s all I can come up with.”

“You think a washed-up quarterback is going to risk being paid out the remainder of his contract? And here I thought you knew sports. I’m obviously feeding information to the wrong source.”

I forget all about the fact Ozzy is about to learn who this guy is. All I can focus on is the fact that Morse might not be the bad guy we assumed he was. “Higher than Morse? Are you talking management?”

“You’re getting warmer, Hollingsworth. You’re also running out of time. I don’t know where Sullivan is hiding, but he can’t stay there forever.”

That’s so true.

I look up at Jack as I plead with my caller. “I’m trying. Just don’t ghost me. In fact, you should call more often. Check in. Let me know you’re okay.”

“Why do you give a shit about me?”

“Because you’re doing the right thing. You’re helping me, so I want to help you.”

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it. No one gives a shit about me.”

“That’s not true.” Now that Ozzy can trace his line, I ask the question I’ve wondered about since the beginning but was too afraid to scare him off. “I do wonder why you give a shit about Brett after doing your part to frame him.”

“Let’s just say I had no idea who I was dealing with. Had I known, I wouldn’t have taken the gig.”

“Then what makes Brett different from anyone else you’d be happy to frame for something they didn’t do?”

He laughs.

The guy actually laughs.

And he doesn’t sound like he wants to come through the phone at me or like he’s running for his life. “Lady, I like to eat.”

My pause hangs in the air so long, Jack puts his fingertips to my chin. I’m forced to look him in the eyes when I answer. “Fair enough.”

“I also like to breathe, so don’t fuck me over,” he adds.

“I’m not sure what more I can do to convince you … fucking you over is not my goal. I am wholly confident we can prove Brett’s innocence and protect your identity.”

“That does not make two of us. Keep your phone close, Hollingsworth.”

I’m about to beg him to keep in touch for a second time in the matter of minutes when the line goes dead.

“Well, that was interesting. Let’s see what Ozzy can do,” I say.

Jack opens his mouth to say something when I get another call.

This one is not unknown.

It’s my dad.

I put it on speaker as fast as I can but don’t have the chance to greet him since he talks first. “You did good, Em. Ozzy says he has what he needs.”

A smile pulls at the corners of Jack’s lips.

“That’s great,” I say. “I actually feel bad for him. He’s trying to do the right thing, but I can tell he’s scared.”

“Only you would feel bad for someone who admitted to drugging and framing someone for multiple felonies,” Dad states.

“I can’t help it. We have a connection.”

Jack frowns.

“Maybe it was the kidnapping,” Dad deadpans. “Reporting in the face of tornadoes has made you an adrenaline junkie.”

“Hardly. I just get the feeling he’s a man without a lot of choices.” I need to move on, so I change the subject. “I need to stop and get a gift for Hudson. I don’t want to be late to the party.”

“You didn’t come home last night, and you’re wearing a tracker. I know where you are, and I know who you’re with.”

Before I can confirm, deny, or plead the fifth, Jack joins the conversation. “Hey, Asa.”

I give him a playful jab to the ribs.

Dad’s sigh is louder than it should be over the speaker before he greets the man I just had bare sex with for the first time last night. “Jack.”

“I just wanted to thank you and your team again for the work on my house along with the extra security. Insurance is coming next week. The sooner I get windows, the sooner I can move back in.

“Great.” Another one syllable word bitten out by my father. He doesn’t sound like he thinks anything is great at the moment.

It’s time for me to step in. “I texted Carissa this morning. Jack and I are going to stay there tonight.”

“That’s even…” Dad pauses as if trying to choose his words carefully. “More great.”

“We’ll see you at the party,” I say.

“I’m already here coordinating the play equipment installation.”

“See? Best Grandpa in the world,” I say.

“Emma, their other grandfather is doing hard time in federal prison. That title is not hard to obtain in this family,” Dad jokes.

“Well, I’m sure if that weren’t the case, you’d still be the best.”

Jack is still standing between my spread legs. He takes this opportunity to swipe my hair to the side and press his lips to my neck.

“Gotta go, Dad. I don’t want to be late even though I can’t compete with play equipment.”

“Love you, Em.”

“Love you too.”

I disconnect the call before Jack has the opportunity to express his affection as well. If his lips weren’t connected to my skin, I wouldn’t put it past him.

“We can’t be late. I don’t want to miss Hudson digging into his cake.”

Jack dips his hands under my thighs and lifts me. When he makes it across the small room to the bed, I bounce with a giggle when he comes down on top of me. “Are you going to do the walk of shame or am I buying you yet another outfit?”

“I don’t have time to birthday shop and do the walk of shame. Looks like I get more new clothes.”

He kisses me quickly and slaps my ass with a light smack. “Put on my sweats. You’ll freeze.”

“Jack.” I grip his shirt and hold him to me before he can stand. “Let me tell Levi today, okay?”

His expression turns serious. “No way. You let me worry about your brother. I can handle Levi.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. At least let me tell him, then you can talk to him.”

“Baby, you saved me from a drive-by shooter. I don’t need saving from your brother. He’ll be fine. And if he’s not, he’ll be fine eventually. That’s the last thing you need to worry about. I’m here and I’m not leaving.”

I’m about to argue again, but this time he shuts me up with his lips and tongue.

It reminds me of last night.

And, again, in the shower this morning.

There’s meaning to it, and it’s laced with desperation.

It feels like Jack is hanging on tight, as if I might slip through his fingers.

If he only knew.

I plan on hanging on so tightly, it feels like my life depends on it.