away. Tabitha is entertaining the others with some nonsense that I don’t have the patience to listen to. After waiting a few moments, which is all I can handle, I take Lily’s hand, and I drag her to my room like a possessive caveman.
After closing and locking the bedroom door, I push Lily against it. My lips find hers, and starving for her taste, I plunge my tongue into her mouth, my movements completely uninhibited as I take what I’ve been craving for so long. In this moment, nothing else matters. The stressors of my life have all but disappeared. When I’m with Lily, they always do. She is medicine for my ailed soul, healing me with her presence.
I’m desperate to be inside her, to feel her, to taste her. I pull my mouth from hers and kiss, suck, and lick down her neck. She tastes sweet, her skin so soft against my lips.
“I need you, Lil.” My voice is strained against her skin.
“I’m here,” she whispers.
“I need to be inside you.”
“Take me.”
Her words send a chill up my spine.
Oh, I will.
But first, I have to taste her and feel her come undone beneath my tongue. Then, I’m going to take everything she has to give.
We are lying in my bed, and my face nuzzles in the crook of Lily’s neck as my arms wrap around her.
She lightly trails her fingers up and down my back. “Jax,” she says tentatively, “are you okay?”
No, I’m not. “I’m fine. I just have a lot going on. I’ve been so stressed lately.”
“Can I help you? What can I do?” She kisses me on the head.
“You’re already doing it.” I pull her even closer. “I love you. You know that, right? That I love you so much?”
“Of course I do. And I love you.”
“You know that, no matter what, I will love you always.”
“Jax, what is it? What’s wrong?”
I hear the worry in her voice.
“Nothing. I just want to make sure you know that.”
God, I love her.
I love her now, and I’ll love her forever. I want to hold on to the feelings and sensations of the evening I’ve spent with her. Amazing doesn’t begin to describe it. Yet, in this quiet moment, everything I’ve been thinking about recently is trying to creep back in. I’m trying so hard to block it all out because, damn it, I don’t want to listen. I just want Lily.
I’m going to spend the rest of the night telling her how much I love her—but not with words because they can’t be trusted. I’m going to show her with my body. I’m going to worship her. Through our connection, she will feel all my love.
My movements are attached to my heart, and from there radiates nothing but pure adoration for Lily. She owns every piece of it, and she always will.
The shouting and cheers from the locker room echo against the walls. Music booms from the speakers as all the guys celebrate. It was a hard-fought win, but it was a win. Beating our rivals is always so sweet. My mood is light, happiness invading every cell of my body, because I get to celebrate with Lily.
I laugh as Josh does his version of break-dancing on the tiled floor.
Shaking my head, I turn to Jerome. “Great game, man.”
“You, too. Seriously sweet, Jax.”
“You all ready to head to the party?” Ben comes up from behind us.
“Yes. Definitely,” I answer.
We grab the fool rolling around on the floor, and the four of us exit the stadium.
“Ah, fuck,” I curse under my breath when I see my dad waiting for me.
“Damn. You want us to wait?” Ben asks.
“No, go ahead. I’ll meet you there.” I break off from the guys and head toward my dad.
“Jax.”
“Dad.”
“I saw Lily walk past a bit ago,” he states.
“Yeah, she’s here for the weekend.”
“That explains a lot.”
“What does that explain, Dad?” I huff out.
His voice is stern. “Your messy game, Jax. You were clearly distracted out there today. That throw you made at the start of the third quarter was a joke.”
I sigh. “We won, Dad.”
“You could have won by more.”
“Maybe. But can’t a win be good enough?”
His eyes narrow. “Good enough? You seriously just want to be mediocre? Why be barely good enough when you could be great? Goddamn it, Jax!” he yells.
Startled, I take a step back.
“I’m tired of this nonchalance. I didn’t raise you to be lazy. I raised you to be dedicated!”
“I am, Dad. I live and breathe football. What more do