The closer we get to the cove, the more self-conscious I'm becoming.
Maybe the spot is only magical to me.
Maybe this star athlete will take one look at my little crescent of sand with a view of the ocean and shrug. But he's holding my left hand as he drives, kissing my wrist, my knuckles, my palm, his eyelids heavy with lust—and somehow I know it's going to be all right. That he'll enjoy it as much as I do…especially because we'll be together.
I wet my lips. "Turn here," I say, gesturing to the winding hidden path leading down to the base of the cliff, and Gage steers his truck in that direction.
Though now, he's sitting up straighter, his brows knitting together. "Stella, please don't tell me you've been coming here by yourself."
Who else would I come with? "Why?"
"Why?" The truck goes over a bump and he curses, shoving a handful of fingers through his freshly showered hair. "You've been walking down this path alone? It's barely wide enough for my truck." He glowers at the road ahead. "You could have gotten run over."
"But I didn't."
"It's too secluded out here. Please don't come here without me again, okay?" He pulls to a stop at the end of the path, the sound of the ocean filling the cab of the truck. Immediately, he unbuckles my seatbelt and drags me across the console into his lap, his big quarterback hand framing my jaw. "Stop trying to get my girlfriend killed, huh?"
"I can't promise anything," I tease him.
"You can't promise anything? Nothing at all?"
Primly, I shake my head and try to wiggle off his lap.
He keeps me there with a powerful arm around my waist. "Promise you'll never let those girls give you another makeover…" His hand slides up beneath my skirt to cup my sex. "…and I'll eat your pussy again."
A hot shiver goes through me. "You won't d-do it again unless I promise?"
After a hesitation, he shakes his head. Once.
"That's too bad," I murmur against his lips, moaning lightly. "It felt so good."
His breath releases in a mighty shudder. "You calling my bluff, honey?" He tickles my ribs and I yelp, squirming on his lap. "You know how much I loved having my tongue in that pretty little thing, don't you?" He laughs, deep and pained. "You're already using your pussy against me and I haven't even fucked you yet." He massages me through my panties, visibly trying to get a hold of himself and failing. "Stella?"
"Uh-huh?" I whimper.
"You're going to be making a lot of promises before the night is over. To me." His middle fingers push through the cotton against my entrance and I jolt, thighs clamping together around his wrist. "Enjoy your last few precious minutes as a virgin. I'm ready to sell my soul to get my cock in here."
I search for my resolve, my willpower, and remember my plan. "You don't have to sell your soul to have me." I work my butt slowly in his lap until his teeth are clenched. "You just have to pass Western Civilization."
He lurches upright, eyes scrambling over my face. "You're not saying…" His breaths are starting to come faster. "Honey, no. Don't do this to me. The test isn't for two days."
Guilt tries to weaken my resolve, but I don't let it. This has been my plan since this afternoon and I'm doing the best thing for Gage. "I saw you play today," I say, unable to keep the emotion out of my voice. "You're incredible. Even though I know next to nothing about football, I know greatness when I see it. If I didn't do everything in my power to make sure you play, make sure everyone gets to witness your talent, I would never forgive myself."
He looks past me, nostrils flaring. He hesitates. "What if the championship doesn't mean anything without him there? What if he's the reason I've done so well?" Silence passes. I hold my breath, waiting for him to say more. "We built this supposed career together. He was there every step of the way, coaching me, running drills with me and making decisions. And now he's just gone in a flash and I'm supposed to keep going? I don't know how to do this without him."
"Yes, you do." My heart demands that I cradle his head to my shoulder and tell him everything is going to be okay, but my mind won't let me. Not for this man. He's a god and he needs something stronger. I won't fail him. Not when he's looking down at me with such naked vulnerability. "He might have given you the tools to be great, but you've become an expert at using them. It's a horrible, horrible tragedy that he won't be there to witness your success, Gage. But you earned it. You. And you'll honor him every time you step on the field. You'll be the warrior he knew you were." I push my fingers through his thick hair. "And who's to say he's not somewhere watching?"
A brief, raw sound leaves him and he closes his eyes.
"How does football make you feel?" I ask him.
It takes him a moment to answer. "Capable. Competitive. Strong. Powerful."
"That's how you make it look. Those qualities are not in your head—they're real. He didn't hold them for you, he helped you cultivate them. Now, you have them for life." I turn a little in his lap, stretching up to press our forehead together. "So you're going to go out and do amazing things with that power and drive, Gage. As soon as you pass this test."
"See, this is going to be a problem," he murmurs, eyes still closed.
"What?"
"This. You keep getting more and more amazing, honey, and I'm…I'm not sure how much more I can handle." The breath he lets out is choked and shaky. "Feels like my chest is going to burst when I'm around you."
My heart beats in a blur. "Sounds like you're trying to get out of studying."
His laughter booms in the truck's interior, his eyes opening finally to study me with such warmth, I go slightly limp. Slowly, his smile fades and he turns serious. "I knew the second I saw you that I'd been given a gift. You're what I need to carry on, Stella. You make everything matter again." He renews his grip between my legs. "Two more days until you give this up, huh?"
I nod sympathetically.
"Can we negotiate?" he asks, raising a brow.
"I don't know if that's a good idea. Your experience gives you the upper hand."
He winces at my mention of his past. "I'm ready for that punch in the face, honey. Any time you want to give it. I welcome it."
"Never." I kiss him mouth softly. "I could never hurt you."
He snorts. "Tell that to my cock." I don't get a chance to respond to that. "I hereby declare negotiations open. But first, I've got an important order of business. Condoms." His pupils expand like ink blots. "I don't want to use them. I want…I need you bareback. So tomorrow, I'll go the doctor and make sure I'm safe for you. Okay, honey?"
My mind is racing. "Should I go to the doctor, too? To get on birth control?"
His jaw flexes. "No."
"No?"
He doesn't have to explain what he means. No, his intentions are right there in his expression. In eyes that are almost predatory. Eager. "I have the means to take care of you, Stella. And a baby. This time next year, I'll have been drafted. I'll provide for you. Our family."
"But I want to get an education."
His forehead nudges mine. "But I want you pregnant as fuck."
Is he serious right now? "Well you'll have to wait."
He rips my skirt off. Tears the material straight down the middle, his chest rising and falling with dramatic inhales and exhales. His fist twists in the front of my panties and I wait for him to tear those off, too. "You like making me wait, don't you?"
"No." I'm like a bunny cornered by a wolf, except I have no fear that he'll hurt me. None whatsoever. "It's just part of life. Even for football gods."
"We'll discuss it further." With a visible effort, he releases my panties, then begins to drag the very tip of his knuckle up and down my inner thighs. "No cherry until I pass the test. All right, Stella. Fine. What can I have while I wait? If you think I can keep my hands off you completely for forty-eight hours, you don't fully understand how fully fucking insane I am over you."
I don't have an answer ready. What can he have while he waits? Something tells me kissing won't be enough. Unless…can I put my mouth on his private parts, the way he put them on mine?
"That blush is killing me, honey. What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking…I could kiss you."
He swallows, zeroing in on my mouth. "Yeah."
"In places?"
His body stills. "Places."
"Any place you want?" My face is red. I have no business discussing sexual gratification. I'm way, way out of my depth. "Maybe every time you get a right answer while we're studying, I'll kiss you. On the location of your request."
"Topless."
"What?"
"You have to kiss me on a location of my request." That appendage between his legs is so stiff now, I'm practically elevating off his lap. "With those ripe, freshman titties out."
"Won't that distract you from studying?"
"Maybe. I better take my shirt off, too, just to be safe."
Whatever is about to come out of my mouth dissolves into gibberish. Gage with his shirt off. I can only imagine how utterly golden and glorious he is. And he must be reading my mind, because a cocky smile is spreading on his face.
"Someone wants a better look at her boyfriend," he murmurs, his hips rocking subtly beneath me. Subtly, but still enough to make us both shudder. "Stella, you are the first and last woman in this world who is allowed to undress me any time she wants. I'm your man first, football player second. That's how it's always going to be."
We swoop toward one another's mouths, some unspoken push from fate making us collide. He works his tongue into my mouth, stroking me hungrily, the steering wheel digging into my side. Gage takes my hand and shoves it up beneath his shirt, groaning into my mouth when I begin to trace his muscles, his nipples, the unbelievable brawn of him. And if I keep at this, we're never going to crack open a textbook. I have a responsibility to Gage, to the school…and on some level, his father, to make sure he passes that test. I can't wait.
With a gasp, I break away, evading him when he comes after me for another wild kiss. "I'll meet you on the beach," I blurt, throwing myself off his lap and out of the car. I open the rear cab of the truck and retrieve my textbook and notes, heading for my usual spot in the cove. A moment later, Gage follows behind me with a blanket and a predatory expression on his face that tells me this is going to be a study session like no other.