Page 49 of Under the Lights (The Big Boys of BRU #2)

Thirty Nine

Dom/Sierra

Dom

The music pounding in the locker room was loud, the bass vibrating through the floor. I cracked my neck from side to side, trying to focus.

The guys had noticed that I was quieter than usual, but I think they just thought I was zoned in. I was, but not in the usual way. Something felt different.

Hunter, sitting on the bench across from me, glanced at me. His cold gray eyes were sharp and knowing. “Whatever you’re bottling up, don’t let it get us killed out there.” His voice was just loud enough to be heard over the noise.

I didn’t respond, just flattened him with a look of my own. Hunter was a special case, and no one on the team liked to fuck with him, but I wasn’t scared of him.

Maybe his crazy matched mine?

Grabbing my helmet like armor, like I was about to go to war — with more than just the other team — I joined the rest of the team at the exit to the tunnel.

***

Rage was pounding through my veins, vicious and hot, as I exploded off the line. The sounds of pads crashing into each other, strained grunts, and bodies hitting the turf surrounded me.

I recorded one of my most brutal tackles of my career within the first few minutes. It was clean, but I was pretty sure that guy wouldn’t be returning to the field today.

The adrenaline and satisfaction flooding my body were like adding fuel to the flames. The crowd was roaring around me, spurring me on.

Sitting on the bench, I scanned the stands, like I did every game, on the lookout for the only face that mattered.

My stomach was tight. Maybe she didn’t come. She didn’t come to watch the last couple of games, but she had her own games to play then. I knew for a fact she was free today, and I’d really thought we’d made progress.

Had I been wrong?

Squirting water into my mouth, my gaze still swept over the crowd, and a flash of familiar blonde hair caught my eye. I held my breath, anticipation coiling in my stomach, only to explode into a tidal wave of pleasure as I was able to get a good look at her face.

My girl was here.

She fucking came .

She wasn’t wearing my jersey or my necklace — yet — but we’d get there. For now, she was here, for me and only me. She was leaning forward, her elbows braced on her knees, as she surveyed the field.

The grin spreading on my face was wide and filled with genuine delight. The moment our eyes met, it felt like lightning struck me, like the sun had finally risen after a long, dark night.

Amidst all the chaos, the buzzing bleachers, the sounds of helmets crashing, something inside me snapped tighter.

Not softer. Sharper.

My grin turned feral — teeth bared like a savage. This game had just been decided. There was no way we’d lose now.

I formed a heart with my hands and pointed at her, just able to catch a glimpse of her smile before having to head out on the field again.

My opponent lined up across from me, talking shit. “Let’s see what you’ve got, kid.”

I just laughed, low and mean. “You’re fucking dead .”

I’d never been more serious in my life. Sierra was watching, and that meant I had to dominate — no question. She was here.

Fuck, I could practically feel her eyes on me.

Let them come. I wanted the pain. I wanted the violence. Sierra was not my weakness. She was the fuse. And I was already fucking lit.

The snap came, and I was ready, foaming at the mouth, practically vibrating on the line.

“Tell your QB to start his car. I’m sendin’ him home early.”

But I took a breath too long, and the guy I was supposed to cover got the edge. I recovered fast, but not fast enough.

Fuck! The runner broke loose, and I exploded forward with a burst of speed, but just before I got to him — BOOM .

Hunter was there, saving my ass with a full-body dive, dragging the guy to hell just short of the end zone. Damn. Maybe his crazy did actually match mine.

As we jogged back to huddle, Hunter didn’t even spare me a glance when he muttered, “Keep playing like you’re daydreaming about your girl, and I swear I’ll knock you back to JV.”

I barked out a laugh, not even a little rattled. He could take the fucking stick out of his ass. I was just getting started, my whole body buzzing with an unhinged energy, my eyes darting around wildly behind my face mask.

“Relax. Needed the guy to think he had hope. Makes it more fun when I break him.”

This was a one-off. I was locked in now. I wasn’t just playing to win — I was playing to impress her. No shame in admitting that.

I was going to show her what it looks like when I was dialed all the way the fuck in. Show her that whoever tries to come for her — I would fucking bury them.

With pleasure .

The next snap, someone would be getting pancaked so hard, their mama would feel it.

***

Sierra

As the sun dipped low, it cast long shadows across the packed bleachers. The hum of the crowd grew louder — chants, whistles, and the rhythmic pounding of cleats on turf blending into one roaring sound.

Fans around us swayed in unison. Some clutched foam fingers, while others were wrapped in team colors and had painted faces flushed with excitement.

There was no point in even pretending I wasn’t watching him. That’s why I’d come after all.

This time, there had been no coaxing from Ella necessary. I’d shown up because I wanted to, and I owned it. I was breaking my own rules, going against anything I swore to myself — and I didn’t care anymore.

“You know I’m happy for you, right? But seeing you look at my brother like that is kind of disturbing, girl.” Ella piped up beside me, her voice slicing through the noise.

My eyes were still glued to the field. To him . “Like what?” I asked distractedly, chin now propped in my hand.

“Do you want the PG version or the NSFW one?”

I waved my hands through the air lazily. “Surprise me.”

She didn’t miss a beat. “Like Ross watching Rachel come down the stairs in that green dress. Only in this scenario, Rachel looks like she wants to rip it off and jump him.”

“Huh?” I shot her a confused look.

She threw her hands up, exasperated. “Oh my God. Okay, like you just remembered your vibrator’s out of batteries, and he’s the emergency backup.”

I laughed, loud enough to draw an annoyed look from the guy in front of us. “Okay, that’s a visual.”

Then I caught the way her eyes flicked down toward the sideline — toward Hunter — and lingered just a second too long.

I narrowed mine. “Wait a second… Is that why you were slack-jawed a minute ago? Were you ogling Hunter?”

Her cheeks pinked immediately. “What? No. I wasn’t — shut up .”

A thought clicked into place. “Hold on. That party a few months ago … the one at his place. We left in such a hurry, and at that time I wasn’t really mad about it, but something had you all wound up. What happened?”

Ella’s face stiffened for half a second before she smoothed it over with a shrug. “Nothing. It was hot. Loud. I got tired.”

“Mhm.” I raised a brow. “ Convenient .”

She bumped my shoulder with hers. “Focus on your man, stalker. You’re about to combust just watching him.”

Dom was on fucking fire tonight. He looked positively unhinged, barking at the O-line like he had a personal vendetta and shoving through bodies like they’re cardboard. He looked dangerous — uncontainable.

And he kept glancing up at the stands like he needed to check if I was still there. Like he wanted me to see every second of it.

Ella nudged me. “Jesus. I’ve never seen him this feral. He’s playing like the quarterback insulted your honor.”

My nails were digging into my palm, and my heart hadn’t slowed down since the first whistle. I wasn’t just watching Dom. I was tracking him.

He was a live wire, and I was waiting for the next surge.

***

Dom

We’d made it to the fourth quarter, and the opponent had one last shot. The crowd was roaring, screaming, chanting, but in my head was nothing but Sierra. Her laugh ringing in my ears, her stare piercing me from the stands.

They got ready for the snap, and I mimicked their snap count loudly, trying to throw off their O-line. Mockingly, I adopted the same stance as the dude in front of me and grinned widely.

“You smell that? That’s your QB’s fear.” I sneered.

The ball was snapped, and I exploded off the line like I’d been shot out of a cannon. This time there was no hesitation, no finesse.

Just fury and focus. The left tackle met me, and I almost felt sorry for the poor bastard.

The force with which I barreled into him knocked his breath out of his lungs in a hiss, and I shoved him aside like he weighed nothing.

I pushed on and just caught a glimpse of the quarterback’s eyes widening.

That’s right. I got you, motherfucker.

I was on him in a flash, one hand grabbing a fistful of his jersey, while the other drove into his chest like a goddamn wrecking ball.

The hit was vicious, loud enough to pop over the crowd noise. The ball flew loose — Hunter scooping it and taking off — but I wasn’t fucking done. That QB would be eating dirt.

I took him to the ground, using my momentum to roll over him and jump to my feet again. He stayed down while I hovered over the wreckage.

My chest was heaving, and I grinned through my mouthguard before mimicking digging with a shovel.

“Diggin’ graves today,” I roared, pounding my chest.

Then I lifted my eyes, looking across the field — right at Sierra.

She was on her feet, one hand over her mouth, and shaking her head like she didn’t know whether she should be horrified or cheering me on. Smirking, I formed another heart with my hands and pointed at her.

I’d bet anything, right now, that those panties were soaked for me. I knew my girl.

The stadium was still roaring, but I was already tuning it out. I ripped my helmet off as the clock ran out, sweat stinging in my eyes, and adrenaline still buzzing through me, a storm with nowhere left to strike.

Victory tasted like metal. Like blood. Like Sierra’s name, echoing in the back of my mind.

***

I pushed the locker room open with my shoulder, stepping out into the hallway. Damp strands of hair fell into my eyes, and I pushed them back with an annoyed huff.

Grabbing my cap out of the unzipped bag slung over my shoulder, I pushed my hair back before shoving the hat over it.

My legs were aching, but at least I didn’t smell anymore. The shower had calmed me down, at least on the surface.

The scent of clean soap was barely masking the leftover adrenaline in my bloodstream.

That calm was just my armor — something keeping me from detonating in the middle of the hallway. I was still on edge and would be for the rest of the night, based on previous experience.

Lifting my head, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Sierra was waiting for me.

Her back was propped against the wall just outside the locker room’s hallway, arms crossed, legs casually crossed at the ankle, watching me with an unreadable expression.

Her hair was pulled into a messy braid, and her razor-sharp eyes watched me with an unreadable expression. More laid-back than usual, but no less intense.

How long had she been standing there?

She didn’t say anything. Her body language remained unreadable except for that tiny tell — her nails were digging into her elbow, the way she did when she was trying not to feel something.

I approached her with slow steps, gaze locked on her like gravity’s shifted in her direction. Like she was the axis I revolved around. The only sound was the electric hum of the lights above and the muffled voices coming from the locker room.

“You better be waiting for me, ” I said, one corner of my mouth tipping up into a lazy, crooked smile.

Sierra shrugged. “Well, I sure as hell wasn’t gonna fight the crowd to watch you shirtless on the field.”

I flashed her a full grin, my eyebrows popping up quizzically. “So you waited to see me shirtless here?”

“You wish.” She scoffed, but there was no real derision in her voice.

“I do.”

She cocked her head to the side. “You were playing like you were trying to prove something.”

I stepped closer, barely holding on to my control, and my every muscle coiled with tension, yearning to touch her, feel her. Her breath hitched, and she put her palms on my chest.

Holding me back or holding on to me?

“I was.” I jerked my head in agreement.

“To whom?”

There was no hesitation. “You.”

Surprise flickered over her face, rousing my curiosity once again. Was she surprised by my words in general, or was she surprised because I admitted it?

Her eyes, wide open and unguarded for half a breath, flicked to mine. I leaned in but didn’t touch her.

Just close enough for her to feel the heat radiating off me as my pulse raced under my skin. Her fingers started playing with the half-open zipper of my hoodie.

Was she … nervous ?

“You can keep pretending I’m not under your skin Sierra,” I said, my voice husky and gravelly. “But I’m already buried deep. And I’m not going anywhere. ”

She swallowed. Hard. “You’re insane.”

I sucked my teeth, chuckling. “And you’re hooked.”

And then I did one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do — I walked past her, and this time I didn’t look back.

Because I knew she wasn’t here to run. She was here because she couldn’t stay away.

Let her feel it. Let her miss me.

Let her realize I was done being her secret.

I was the storm she’d invited in, and I wasn’t about to apologize for wrecking her plans.