Quarterback Sneak (Red Zone Rivals #3)(55)

Those thoughts plagued me one night when Julep was in my bed, both of us sated and spent. She had her head on my chest, and I drew circles idly along her bare back. Most times, when we were done, we were in a hurry — she’d sneak off or I would before anyone could see us.

But my favorite times were the ones like this, when there was no real rush to move, when I could hold her for a brief moment in time and pretend she was really mine.

“You ready for the game this weekend?” she asked softly.

“Born ready.”

She smiled against my chest. “I’m impressed by how you’ve bounced back from this injury. You seem… I don’t know, maybe even stronger than before.”

“I hope the scouts see it that way.”

She leaned up, balancing her chin on my chest. “You’re worried they won’t?”

“I’m just realistic,” I told her. “I had a shot at the first round before this. But now, I’ll be lucky to be taken by the fifth.”

“Does it matter when you’re drafted?”

I considered. “I guess, not really. Plenty of late-round picks have gone on to be successful in pro ball. But…”

“But your ego is going to take a beating,” she teased me, poking my rib.

I rolled swiftly, pinning her into the sheets and tickling her as she laughed and pathetically attempted to push me off. Eventually, I stopped tickling, and she opened her legs, letting me settle between them.

“It’s just been a dream of mine,” I said. “But dreams change.”

“Mm,” she said, making a face like she knew that all too well. “That they do. And what’s your dream now?”

“Oh, it hasn’t changed that much,” I said, smirking. “I still plan on making millions of dollars and playing pro ball for life.”

“Is that all?” Julep teased. I loved how she looked in that moment, her dark hair splayed over my pillowcase, eyes tired from all the nights I’d kept her up late.

“Well, then there’s the wife and kids, of course. You, walking down the aisle to me in a long, silky white dress…”

She snorted, rolling her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck in the back of her head. Again, she pathetically pushed at my chest. “Right. Us. Married.”

“Come on, you can’t see it?” I ignored the ache in my chest at how quickly she shrugged that off, reminding myself that I knew it was impossible, too. I was just joking. It was all fun and games.

“No, because if you so much as thought about proposing to me, my father would murder you.”

“Let’s pretend for a second that he wouldn’t.”

She gave me a look like that wasn’t something she was capable of.

“I can see you now, a veil flowing behind you, beautiful blushing bride…”

“Ew.”

I laughed at her immediate reaction.

“First of all, no veil. Ever,” she said, holding up a finger. I just smiled pulled that finger to my mouth, kissing it as she continued. “And I’ll wear a black dress, not a white one.”

“Scandalous.”

“Yeah, well, I’m no innocent virgin,” she said, something dark washing over her face before she shook it off. “And I don’t want kids.”

“Come on,” I begged, grinding my hips against her. She bit her lip when I ran the length of me slow and teasingly up her center. “We’d make really cute ones, I bet. And we’re really good at the things it takes to make babies.”

Julep’s eyes were heated when she wrapped her legs around my waist and kissed me, long and deep. “We can’t make a baby if I keep swallowing your cum.”

I groaned at how dirty it sounded coming off those beautiful lips of hers, and my cock hardened between us, already fired up and ready to go again.

“That can easily be rectified,” I said, nipping at her bottom lip.

“No babies until after we’re married.”

I laughed. “Wow, I’ve made great progress.”

“Two. Max.”

I kissed along her jaw. “I really like when I get my way with you.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“I can see us now, me playing pro ball, you—”

“Excelling in my own career,” she finished for me with a pointed look.

“I was going to say that!” I defended. “You didn’t even give me a chance.”

She gave me a look like yeah, right.

“And when the kids are grown, and my old ass is retired, we’ll have a house in the mountains.”

“Aw, man,” she said, pouting. “I was really looking forward to causing trouble in a nursing home.”

“We’ll do that, too. Later.”

I chuckled, and she smiled, and even though it was all a joke, something like hope hollowed out my chest.

I watched her for a while, fingertips playing with her hair on my pillow as my eyes trailed over the worry lines on her face.

“And I get to die first,” she said after a while, softly. “That’s non-negotiable.”

I swallowed, frowning at the change in tone. “Why?”

Julep’s eyes flicked between mine, her answer hanging on the tip of her tongue but not daring to taste the air between us. She kept her mouth shut, but I saw what she couldn’t say.