Fumbled (Playbook #2)(61)

I take inventory of my body before I answer. I tilt my hips upward, the discomfort I felt only seconds ago beginning to fade. “Yeah.” I reach up, locking my hands behind his head and pulling his mouth to mine. I open my mouth for him and he slips his tongue in without hesitation and I can taste me on him.

Any remnant of discomfort dissipates and need replaces it. “Go, TK.” I nip at his bottom lip. “Please.”

That’s all the convincing he needs. It’s like I flipped a switch and the tender, gentle man I was just with turns uninhibited.

And I love it.

He slams into me with abandon. His strength gives it to me in ways I’ve never experienced before. It’s not long until he’s moved me up the bed, my head hitting the headboard in sync with every thrust.

“Fuck yes,” he growls before pulling out, flipping me onto my knees and slamming back into me from behind.

My back arches into him as I try to meet him thrust for thrust. The only sounds filling my small house are our heavy breathing, moans, and his thighs slapping against my ass.

That familiar pressure starts to build, and my body goes solid, I clench around him as he continues his glorious assault.

“Come on, baby.” He wraps my hair around his fist, pulling my head back. “Get there.” he says into my ear, his damp skin brushing against mine before dropping his other hand to my sex.

I feel him everywhere.

“Oh my god!” My knees give out beneath me as I come . . . again.

It’s fast and so intense, everything fades away. I hear TK call out his release, but he sounds so far away. I think he’s whispering something, but it’s impossible to hear over the roaring in my ears.

“Holy shit,” I tell my mattress after my breathing has returned to normal, TK’s weight still resting on top of me. “That was amazing.”

“That was better than amazing, Sparks,” TK says into my hair before rolling off me. “That was fucking life changing.”

Damn straight.

This might not be a forever thing, me and him, but it is a right-now thing. And so, for now, I’m going to take advantage of every second I have left with TK.

I smile to myself, enjoying the aches I know are going to be fully present in the morning.

Then I fall asleep.

With the light still on.





Twenty-five




“Look who finally decided to join us.” TK smirks, pushing a large Fresh cup across the table. “I wasn’t sure what you ordered, but Ace said it’s always a vanilla latte, so that’s what you got.”

“Are you feeling okay, Mom?” Ace asks, handing me a Fresh bag I don’t need to look in to know it’s a blueberry muffin. “You never sleep this late and you look different.”

I’m fine. Your dad just put it down so hard last night . . . and again this morning.

“Yeah, dude. I just had a long night at work. I guess I was more tired than I thought.” I give him an answer that won’t leave him emotionally scarred for the rest of his life. “When did you get home anyway?”

“Like an hour ago.” Ace shrugs. “TK picked me up from Mrs. Vonnie’s house and then we stopped at Fresh on our way home.”

Ace has his back turned before he finishes talking to me, so he misses it when my eyebrows try to take cover under my hairline.

“You picked him up?” I turn to TK, not sure how I feel about this.

His shoulders tense in a way that lets me know my tone isn’t as happy-go-lucky as I hoped it was. “The vets got excused from training camp today,” he tells me for some reason. “I dropped my stuff off at my place and Justin and Vonnie live right around the corner from me. I figured since I was right there, there was no need for you or Vonnie to go out of your way.”

“I don’t mind picking him up.” I reach for my coffee and train my eyes on the floors I need to mop to avoid looking at TK. “You should’ve called me first.”

“I did, four times,” he says matter-of-factly.

Crap.

I close my eyes and draw in one of the deep breaths Sadie is always telling me to take after she goes to her once-a-month yoga class.

“I . . .” I pause, trying to think of an excuse to leave. “I forgot to brush my teeth.”

I spin on my fuzzy slipper before TK can call out my lie, and I head straight to the bathroom.

Once I’m in the small, outdated room, I slide down the door, not even flinching when my shorts-clad legs rest against the cold tile floor.

I don’t understand what the hell is going on with me.

All I ever wanted was a reliable partner who cared about Ace just as much as I do. And now I have him, and he’s TK of all people. It’s so much more than I ever even let myself dream. And the first time he does the smallest thing on his own, like giving our son a ride home, I freak out!

Again, what is wrong with me?

I don’t know if it’s all the crap with the flowers, the things TK said to me—or the way he touched me—last night, or what, but I’m a straight-up disaster.

I swipe the tears falling down my cheeks and resist the urge to scream. It’s like I’m incapable of accepting good things in my life. I want to be the person who just says thank you when TK does something kind. The type of woman who says “I love you” back to the man she’s loved her entire life.