Page 74 of Elite Player
It’s funny. I’d had such a difficult time picturing the two of us together, thinking the world at large would agree there was no way Nico Tremblay and Josephine Atkins fit together, but being in my little bed with him, hearing his panting breaths and feeling his trembling muscles, I think I might agree with him.
Maybe this is fate.
Maybe this was always the way it was supposed to happen.
The reformed player with the shy, backward virgin.
It is something out of a book.
He sits back on his knees and strips off his T-shirt, tossing it to the floor, before raking his gaze along my body, pausing at different places, my breasts, my stomach, and finally between my thighs. He drags his hand over his face, down his throat, appearing distraught.
With more courage than I’ve ever had, I sit up and ask him a question, fearing the answer but needing to hear it anyway. “Do you not want to do this anymore?”
“Jesus, no, Jo. I want to do this more than anything. More… That’s why…” He takes one of my hands and places it over his pounding heart and opens his mouth to speak, but he stops himself. I can almost see the words turning to dust on his tongue. Something is wrong, but he can’t get it out.
“What is it?” I comb my fingers through his shaggy golden hair. “You can tell me.”
He shakes his head a few times, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Another time.”
“But—”
He silences me with a bruising kiss, twisting my hair in his hands, easing me back to the bed. No matter that I’m worried about whatever secret he’s keeping, my body doesn’t care. My nipples tighten to painful points, and my core aches, needing to be filled.
With a few nips to my collarbone and shoulder, he stands from the bed to shuck his pants and underwear, releasing the hard length of him. I watch with rapt attention as he finds his wallet and pulls out a few condoms.
“Don’t think less of me,” he says, tossing all but one on the nightstand.
“Think less of you for being careful?”
“For being a slut.”
Is this what he was worried about? His past? His reputation?
I don’t care about it. I know he’s been safe, and he’s obviously been careful with his health. He might not have always made the best decisions, but I know he would never hurt anyone, especially me, on purpose.
“I’m tested regularly,” he says, and he tears open the packet. “And I haven’t been with anyone since…”
Since the woman broke in to the Iron’s practice to throw herself at him.
But we don’t need to rehash.
“Since we’ve gotten together,” he finishes, and I am exceedingly happy our relationship is his measuring stick. No matterthat it’s not real. He holds up the condom between his fingers. “There’s still time for you to say no.”
I bite back a smile. “Are you trying to talk me out of this?”
“I’m trying to not be the bad guy.”
I move to sit on the edge of the bed, so I’m basically eye level with his groin, the tip of his cock pearling with liquid. I force my eyes up to his. “You’re not the bad guy. You’ve never been.”
He exhales a big breath and nods to himself before rolling the condom on. I watch in fascination, his dexterous fingers completing the task. My sex education wasDO NOT DO IT, so I never actually learned about how to use a condom and certainly never had the opportunity to try it. And I’m actually grateful Nico is experienced and can teach me. I don’t feel so stupid and lost with him, like some bumbling, timid girl.
With him standing before me, hands at his sides, granting me all the time I need to study him, I’ve never been more appreciative for my life. The path I’ve been on led me here.
I place my hand back on his chest, over his breastbone, between his defined pectorals, and admire the golden tan of his skin, a California boy through and through. As I let my fingers drift down, his abs ripple, and I caress the line of hair under his navel leading down to his proud shaft. I grip it over the condom, squeezing how he taught me.
He closes his eyes, taking a few breaths as I lean forward to kiss his stomach, wrap my free hand around his taut glute. I dig my fingers into it, and he groans, arching an eyebrow my way. “That how it’s going to be?”
I have no idea how it’s going to be. This is all one giant experiment, and when I shrug a shoulder, he moves to the bed, positioning himself on his back. Then he holds out his hands. “Come here, mama.” He eases me on top of him, my legs on either side, his cock between us. “You’re going to be in control.”
