Second and Short Read online

  You can see me out of uniform anytime you want.

  Hahahahaha, I knew the second I hit send you’d make it dirty.

  Don’t leave. Stay tonight.

  The three little dots pulsed on his phone. Dalton missed that he had stopped breathing. His heart beat hard against his chest as he clutched the phone willing her to type a response. Had it been three seconds? Minutes? Hours?

  There’s an early storm predicted. I can stay a few hours, but I have to get home to plow.

  Dalton’s heart sank at the message. He wanted Willie to stay, but if nothing else he saw how selfish the NFL life could be for the spouse. Dani made an exception to see him on Tuesday, but he’d never noticed his seven day a week job before meeting Willie. Sure it wasn’t year-round, but even the days off weren’t that. He had responsibilities related to the team every day of the week. The suspension and bye week gave him more time off than he’d ever received in his professional life.

  I’m gonna hit the shower. I’ll try to be there to pick you up in an hour.

  K, I’m trying to not overstay my welcome at Rome’s.

  Not even possible. Dalton’s finger hovered over the I on his keyboard. He’d typed and deleted I love you three times. No, too soon man, Dalton shook his head and went for a more neutral response.

  See you soon, babe. Willeen clicked off her phone and gazed out at the busy city streets. This had already gone too far. She’d have to talk to Dalton about what was happening between them. The game was fun, but she couldn’t get lost in a crowd. Not with him by her side. If nothing else the GOGs taught her that and Dani confirmed it. Not on purpose, but when they were leaving a bus drove by with a picture of Dani and Rome on the side. It advertised a charity, but was that what was expected of an NFL girlfriend? Willeen couldn’t be a girlfriend to anyone, let alone a man in the spotlight.

  “You okay?” Dani asked.

  “Yes, Dalton said he wanted to see me before I left town.”

  “You’re leaving tonight?”

  “I’ve got a job.”

  “Right, but I thought it was pretty flexible.”

  “It can be, but mother nature dictates a lot of it.”

  The storm forecasted was a tracking snowfall not one that would require the plow, but what was she supposed to do, spend the night? Dalton didn’t have to play again until the next Sunday. He could easily talk her into holing up in his house until then.

  Willie camped out on the couch in the living room where Dani had put the afternoon game on the TV. DeMonte passed out before they got two blocks from the stadium. Dani was happy to have Willie carry the toddler to his bed. The warmth of his little frame had Willie smelling his hair and dreaming of what could never be as she tucked him in for a nap.

  “You alright?” Dani asked and Willie felt a trend starting. “Sorry, I’ve just noticed a shift in you since we left.”

  “End of the high I guess.”

  “Could be, or—” Dani put her hands up in surrender as they backed out of DeMonte’s room. “Professional pitfall. Rome says I’m always looking for a problem to solve.”

  “Dalton said something about you helping him.”

  “I’m trying, but until he knows what he wants I can’t help him achieve it.”

  “He seemed a bit lost when he first came to the cabin.”

  “And a bit more grounded when he left,” she surmised.

  “I’m not that girl.”

  “Which one? The one who completes a lost man?”

  “It’s not what or who I can be. I don’t have baggage, I have a shipping crate.”

  “Hmm.” Dani led the way back to the living room where they both spread out on the couch. “When I first started dating Rome, I thought I had too much for him to handle. There’s a strength and focus in men like Rome and Dalton. They’ve achieved what less than one percent in the world can. It’s not given to them. They work every day as if they were trying to make their first team. Rome and Dalton are superstars and you wouldn’t know with how much effort they put in during the week.”

  A little yip made Willie jump and Dani laughed as she picked up a gray mop of fur. Plopping the puppy on the couch it sniffed around and then turned its little head toward her. Barely making out the black eyes behind it’s long hair she couldn’t help smiling at the tiny creature. The puppy responded by climbing up on her lap and curling into a ball.

  “Wow, the only other person Floppy has been that quick to befriend is Dalton.”

  “I couldn’t imagine this on him.”

  “They’re cute together.” Dani smiled and let out a sigh. “Speaking of which I have a feeling he’ll be pulling up any minute now.”

  “Darn, he’s kinda growing on me,” Willie said as she scratched between Floppy’s ears. “Is it a therapy dog?”

  “I may need to look into registering him. He seems to suck all the stress out of people.”

  The door opened, Floppy’s head popped up and his front paws balanced on Willie’s forearm. With a bark as threatening as a gummy bear, Floppy attempted to protect his home. When Dalton turned the corner into the living room Floppy took off, leaping off the back of the couch through the air. With one hand Dalton fell forward and caught the pup mid jump. The gray mop of fur rested in the lineman’s huge hand as if it were a newborn.

  “Floppy, are you crazy?” Dalton scolded as he held Floppy nose to nose with him only to get a lick. Willeen marveled as she watched a man who could easily crush the animal being as delicate as if he were a precious crystal vase. “You are.”

  Cradling the dog in the nook of his arm Dalton’s soft and gentle side had Willeen holding herself back.

  “Hey you.” He smiled at Willeen and she stood up. “You want to head out.”

  “Not before I get to see the woman—” Rome rounded the corner and came up short as he saw her. Looking between the two of them he let out a loud laugh. “Who has you whipped like—”

  Dalton thrust Floppy at Rome. “I am the only thing between you and Amar Golden next week.”

  “Not true.”

  Dalton raised his eyebrow and Rome took possession of Floppy. “Willeen this is Jerome Speed, the man I make look good every Sunday.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Willeen said as she extended her hand. “And I don’t believe ninety percent of what he says.”

  “Brains and beauty. I thought I had found a unicorn when I met Dani. Guess my good luck is spreading.” After shaking her hand Rome leaned down and kissed the crown of Dani’s head. “Where’s the little man?”

  “Passed out. He’ll probably be up in a little bit.”

  Willeen watched the interaction with longing. Although Dani was not DeMonte’s mother biologically, the shift was happening in the home. One where Rome and her were both becoming mother and father to the boy Rome only knew from pictures six months ago. A simple step to the left and they had become a family.

  “Nice jersey,” Dalton said.

  “My shirt got beer spilled on it,” Willie confessed. “Speaking of which, what do I owe you?”

  “Nothing,” Dani replied. “Trust me, I’m good.”

  “No, that doesn’t seem right.”

  “She’ll bill me for it,” Dalton interjected as his eyes seemed to be examining the jersey a bit close.

  “Not much better.”

  “You’ve met her now,” Dalton said and gave Willeen a wink causing her to smile shyly and turn her eyes down to the floor. “I’ve got a dinner planned and we don’t want to be late.”

  Willeen said her goodbyes and headed to the front door with Dalton. “Where are we going?” she asked as they stepped into the cool November late afternoon. Hugging her coat tight to her chest, she soon was awash in heat as Dalton’s arms surrounded her from behind. A quick shiver shot through her body when his beard brushed against her neck a moment before his lips. They walked slowly in lockstep toward her truck. “Not going to tell me?”

  “My house,” he whispered. “You’re driving. There’s only
one thing I’m in the mood for. I just hope we can make it all the way there before I get to dessert.”

  Chapter Four

  At times Dalton cursed his size. Why couldn’t he get furniture without it being reinforced and three times the size of a normal chair? Why is the jar he needs always on the bottom shelf at the store? Why are ceilings so low? Or doorways legally six-foot eight? Would a few more inches really hurt? Lord knows the top of his head has been cut more times by the arm of a hinge at the top of a door or the ceiling fan that seemed high until he had the displeasure to knock the dust off when it hit the top of his head.

  Riding along side Willie, he found there was no other way to sit than flush up against her with his hand on her thigh. The cab of the older truck she drove wasn’t as cramped for most people under six-four, which made it perfect for Willie. He on the other hand…well he had to angle himself. After a hard game his muscles ached, his joints were about as limber as the tin man before the oil can and all he wanted was to be buried inside his woman.

  “Do you know what I’d be doing to you if I didn’t have to provide directions?” Dalton asked as he breathed in the scent of her shampoo while his hand slid between her legs. “You’re lucky you look sexy as hell in these jeans or I’d demand you stripped down and put on a skirt.”

  “Amazing you think you can order me to do anything,” she replied with her neck cocked to the side as he laid small kisses on the soft flesh.

  “Have you ever had sex in this cramped truck?” he asked as his finger nimbly unbuttoned her jeans. “Any form?”

  “I’ve only had this truck for about a year.”

  “Then we should break it in.”

  Willie’s back got stick straight as she cut her eyes to him. “In Chicago traffic?” she blanched.

  “We should be hitting the first ring of suburbs by now,” he reasoned.

  “You have got to be—” His finger slipped between her wet folds and he grinned up at her. Her lips pursed as they blew out a long hard breath. The warm wet channel greeted him with no resistance and his cock hardened in jealousy. With a subtle shift, he was able to get a second finger to follow and Willie whimpered.

  “Focus on the road. I’d hate to explain this to the officer.”

  “Dying in a fiery crash mid orgasm,” she panted as he let his hand glide in and out. “Yeah that’s not really going to go over well.”

  “Tell me something, babe. You think this truck is high enough people can’t see what I’m doing?” Her eyes darted around to check into her surroundings. “It’s turning you on, isn’t it? Thinking all these people can see me touching you. What if I were to dip my head down and disappear under your shirt?”

  “Don’t,” she warned, but her nipples were hardening underneath the fabric. With a lick to her upper lip, he could feel her core begin to tighten and flutter against his fingers.

  “My exit is coming up. You might want to get over.”

  “You actually think I’ll be able to switch lanes?”

  First his nose, then his lips brushed against her ear lobe. “I know you can, you’re my woman and my woman can do anything.”

  Again, her lips came together as she checked her mirrors and turned on her blinker. Barrington, Illinois was a nice mixture of history, wealth and suburban lifestyle. A few players had lived there over the years. Dalton had been able to keep a low profile in the town surprisingly.

  “You say I can’t tell you what to do,” he stated. “And yet right now I hold the most precious part of you in my hands.”

  “That is not the most precious part of me.”

  “When it comes to mind, body and soul you only offered one to me. That makes it precious. It’s the piece I treat as sacred.” Pushing deeper inside, he reached the spot he’d been aiming for. A yip and hard intake of air let him know he’d found the bundle of nerves elusive to most. “Follow my directions and I will pamper, worship and pleasure you in a way you never thought possible.”

  “Left or right?” she gasped and Dalton saw they’d been stopped at the end of the exit ramp.

  “Right.” Dalton tried to focus on the task at hand, only he had two and he wasn’t one to multitask normally. “You want me to stop?”

  “Giving directions,” she teased and he began to stroke her again. When her foot pressed down on the gas pedal a little too hard, he decided it was time to get them home instead of distracting her. If texting and driving is a hundred bucks, what would this fine be? With a few quick flicks to leave her on the edge, he removed his fingers and guided her back to his house. Between the way he left her and the vibration of the truck her bottom lip had totally disappeared by the time she threw her truck into park.

  “Want me to alleviate some of that pressure for you?”

  Willeen glared at him with no conviction as he could see she was fighting her own desires. “You can only have my body.”

  Adjusting his pants as he walked around her truck, Dalton opened her door and she melted into his arms. He wanted more from her, but he knew her past was holding her back. By the time they were through the front door, her arms were around his neck and their lips fused. Typing in the pass code for his alarm, he locked the door and tapped her hips so she knew he wanted her legs wrapped around his waist. Carrying her up the curved staircase to his bedroom, she tangled her fingers in his hair.

  “You make me feel tiny,” she gasped as they broke their embrace.

  “You are tiny woman,” he replied and laid her down on his bed. Having not buttoned her jeans, he yanked them down and tossed them to the side like a matador signally a bull. Willeen wasn’t the first woman he’d seen in his jersey, but there was something about her in the blue and tan that made him possessive.

  Her feet were covered by ankle socks and he pushed aside her knees so he could glide between her dark legs. Coming to her juncture, he found his jersey landed right at the waistband of her panties. With a V at her neck, her breasts strained at the poly blend fabric as her ponytail wrapped around to fall over her shoulder. With an arm on either side of her, he dipped down to capture her lips. Pulling back, he marveled at how she looked resting on his pillows in the middle of his bed. This is where she belonged. Every night. He needed to have her with him, but as he got lost in her obsidian eyes he didn’t even know if she’d be there in the morning.

  The word love smashed into his brain as he gazed at her. It made him stumble and stop. Not really seeing her for the past two weeks made him realize he never wanted to be apart from her ever again.

  “Something wrong?” Willie asked and Dalton shook his head. He seemed lost to her for a moment. Placing a hand on either side of his face she tried to read his crystal blue eyes. “You didn’t get hit too hard today did you?”

  “My brain is damaged, but not by a concussion. Trust me there are worse things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Beautiful women.” He leaned down and captured her lips. “The queen of them is in my bed and is crazy enough to let me touch her.”

  Her heart ached as he pulled him to her and once again wrapped her legs around his hips. His shaft pressed against her and all she wanted was to be one with him. Why couldn’t they hide away in his castle of a house and never leave? The simplicity of their time in Wisconsin had spoiled her. She was hidden and in his arms. What more could she want from life?

  His kiss trailed down her neck and the smooth touch of his hands removed her panties. She was hungry for him and tried to reach for his pants, but he moved down her body. The bristle of his beard brushed against her thighs, parting them as her head lolled back. A long lick followed and her hips fell forward on the bed. When his mouth engulfed her core her body melted and soon long hard licks were mixed with sucks and flicks each sending fireworks through her body. Her fingers knotted in his hair and his rhythm increased. Heat swelled and as her hips rose to meet his lips she called out his name.

  Her thighs tightened and her ass clenched when the orgasm hit its peak. A small chuckle came from
Dalton as he backed off and rested on his knees above her. Clouded vision had her searching for his outline. He moved and her vision cleared as he removed his shirt. Unlike most athletes, linemen were solid, but not cut. She loved the way his belly poked out, but was still firm. His chest and biceps showed the cut muscles the rest of the players had and she couldn’t get enough of them. Reaching across the bed he opened his nightstand drawer and pulled out a strip of condoms. Tearing off one, he balanced the package between his teeth and removed his pants. There were some sights that could get old. Sunsets, newborn kittens, and rainbows. The sight of Dalton Gresham naked, fully erect with eyes burning with desire she never wanted to live without. Her mouth watered as he sheathed himself and as his body engulfed her she had never had a feeling of security so strong in her life.

  With a hard thrust, he found his way inside her already spasming core. Her fingers dug into his back. He didn’t flinch from the sting of her nails. Instead, he drove deeper inside her and she again was calling his name. No matter the time or place he had claimed her, body and soul. If only she could tell Dalton that she’d woke up every night since he left reaching for him. Instead she closed her eyes, rode her orgasm and held onto him as tight as she could.

  “Look at me,” he commanded and Willeen opened her eyes. He captured her lips, but kept their eyes locked as he thrust his cock inside and then retreated just enough to have her yearning for more. Breaking the embrace, he switched to gentle brushes of his lips against hers. Now he found a slower, painfully teasing stroke, causing the orgasm to be drawn out. “That’s my babe.”

  “So not right.”

  “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you Ms. Willeen Fire, you don’t leave until satisfied.” The sinewy muscles of his shoulders twitched as he reached for her arm and pulled her hand to his. Shifting his angle a bit, he hit a new stride. Their fingers intertwined and he brought the back of her hand to his lips. “I’ll delay as long as I can. I never want you to leave.”