"Damn. Who is the hot girl in the stands?"
"Haven't seen her before. Fuck. Those legs are begging to be clamped around my head."
They shove each other. "After me, bro."
I don't even glance up from the playbook. This is normal bullshit from my teammates. They're always going on and on about women, their bodies. I don't have the heart to break it to them that all of their groupies look the same. They can't hold a candle to my Stella. Jesus, I want her. I want her so bad, but I've got another half hour of practice until she takes me to her secret place. I'm dying to see it. Dying to know everything about her—
"Oh shit, dude. That's Weston's girl."
"What?" He sounds nervous. "No…she…that's not how she looked earlier."
My chin snaps up, something sharp and ugly winding down my throat and wrapping around my vocal cords. Weston's girl. Stella. They're talking about my Stella? I didn't even have to say a word when I stepped on the field. It went unspoken that she is off fucking limits. So why are they talking about her? I'm going to break the neck of whoever spoke about her legs out loud.
A roar is building in my chest when I finally spot her—and everything goes silent around me, as if all signs of life have been sucked out of the air. When the noise returns, I'm midway through that bellow. I've ripped the helmet off my head and thrown it at the water table, knocking over rows of green paper Gatorade cups.
Stella is watching me approach, wide eyed and shell shocked, but I can't calm myself down to reassure her. "Who did this?"
I jump the fence separating the field and the stands, my cleats loud on the stairway leading up. Up to her. Where she waits with her skirt rolled up, her flat belly exposed, hair twisted up on top of her head, lips fire-engine red. I'm getting hard even though I hate what they've done to her. There's no way to stop my cock from reacting to so much of her skin being exposed, because it's too succulent, too sweet, too mine. Mine.
Sweet Jesus, those tits.
Whoever did this has taken her out of the giant, button-down shirt, where I preferred her, and left her in an undershirt that they've knotted beneath her breasts. Despite how pissed off I must look, I watch her little nipples bead under the thin material and my balls swell out of my protective cup. Shit. Shit. I'm drawing so much attention to her right now and I shouldn't be. My teammates are already taking notice of how absolutely gone I am for Stella. These are the most competitive men in the world. They always want the best. They're always trying to win it for themselves. Not this time.
Not happening.
I have to find a way to fend them off.
She's only for me. She's mine to keep.
When I reach Stella, I pull her up against me, looking down into her face. Goddammit, she was already so fucking beautiful, I could barely stand it. But they've made her hot and sexy on top of it. Now I'm insane. I'm going insane. "Give me back her clothes," I growl, roughly unrolling her skirt, hiding her lithe thighs as quickly as possible. "Who did this to her? She was already perfect. Who did this?"
"I…I just…we were just having some fun," squeaks some idiot to my left.
I spare her a brief glance, just long enough to discern who is talking. Who is responsible.
I gesture to one of the security guards that has followed me into the stands. "Get her out of here." I jerk my chin at the idiot. "She doesn't come back."
They usher her out of the stands, no questions asked, while she sputters. That's the kind of power I have around here. That's the kind of power I'll have wherever I'm going. But it's becoming painfully obvious that I can't stop people from recognizing that I've found the greatest treasure of my life. I can't stop people from noticing her. Wanting her.
"You've overreacting," she whispers as I untie her hair, arranging it in waves around her shoulders, hiding her delicious neck. Even her ears are tempting. Christ. "You can't just have her banned from the stadium. She was only trying to help."
"There is nothing to help," I rasp. "Where is her shirt?"
Someone puts in my hands and I wrap it around her shoulders, buttoning it with as much efficiency as I can muster when I'm burning alive. Needing her underneath me. Needing everyone to stop looking at what's mine. Now.
"There's nothing to help," Stella says, repeating me. "How can you say that?"
"Because I have eyes, Stella."
"Then why can't you see how different we are?"
My fingers pause on the final button. "What are you talking about?" She presses her lips together and shakes her head, so I prompt her again, desperate to know what's going on in her mind. It seems bad. I don't like it. I take her by the shoulders. "Talk to me. Tell me."
"You should see yourself down there. You're amazing," she breathes for my ears alone. "I just thought…I don't know. It's stupid. I just thought you might want someone who matches you a little more?"
I must be dense, because I'm completely lost. "I'm in football pads and a helmet. You're half naked in lipstick. We don't match for shit, honey."
She rolls her eyes at me. Goddamn, it's sexy. "You know what I mean."
"No. I don't." I squeeze her hips in my hands, her exasperation with me really revving my engine. "Did I mention how badly I want to fuck you?"
Pink stains her cheeks and I groan. "Y-yes."
My cock swells more, the damn cup cutting into my aching junk. "Don't blush and stutter. You're making it worse."
"I-I…I…"
This time, my groan is directed at the sky.
"Practice is over!" I shout over my shoulder—and that's when I notice that, sure enough, everybody in the stadium is watching us. Every. Single. Person. They've stopped what they're doing to witness my jealousy, my possessiveness of Stella. And my teammates are so curious about her now, they're all but licking their chops.
I have to do something about this.
I can't have them sniffing around her. I'll lose my fucking mind.
Forget vandalism, I'll commit homicide.
"Can you wait here for me here while I wrap things up with my coaches? They need some reassurance that I'm going to pass Western Civilization and suit up for the championship."
"You are going to pass," she murmurs, face tilted up to mine in the sunshine. Too beautiful for words. "I'm going to make sure of it. After watching you play…it would be a crime to keep you from this sport, Gage. You were born to play it."
My throat aches. "Yeah?"
"Yeah."
For the first time since my father died, I don't feel so alone in this stadium.
I kiss her once. Turn to leave, then come back for one more, deeper this time. Then a third, because she's getting into it, opening her mouth wide for me. Letting me taste every sweet corner. Finally, a whistle is blown and I manage to tear myself away. But now I'm on a mission. Keep other men away from my Stella at all costs. Derail their interest—and God, do they have interest. Despite the fact that I've covered her up, they're all still staring at her when I reach the field. A manacle clamps around my throat, panic making me sweat.
"Where did you find her?" one of them asks.
"That's his tutor," supplies another. "She's helping him pass Western Civ."
"Yeah," I say, my voice ragged. I know what I have to do, but the words slice my throat like blades on their way out. "She's at the top of her class. Squeaky clean. She's going to make me look good to pro scouts. Settled down and all that. That's all it is."
"You sure about that?" asks one of my receivers. "You looked pretty into her."
"What can I say? I'm a hell of an actor." I hate myself in this moment. Hate. But I'll hate it more if someone steals her away from me. She's the only peace in this world. If she wasn't mine, I wouldn't want to live anymore. I've never coveted anything or anyone a day in my life. I don't know how else to handle this but to throw them off the scent. "She's just your average nerd. Nothing special. But right now, boring is good for my image. Especially after the arrest."
"Right."
They all go back to what they were doing, talking about porn and shoving each other around. All I want to do is melt into the ground. How could I lie like that? I don't deserve Stella.
Make it up to her.
Make her happy. Protect her. In private, make sure she knows how exciting and unique and perfect and incredible she is. Love her.
Like I have a choice?
I'm already obsessed, sick with affection, riddled with love for this girl. And I know she sees it on my face a few minutes later when I stumble back into the stands and draw her into my arms, moving my mouth in a silent apology above her head.
"Take me to your place, honey."
Take me out of here. Away from my lies.
And please, please, never let her find out about them.