Page 96 of Tight End

His fingers tighten around my waist, and I cry out as he slams me down the rest of the way.

He lets out a curse, lifting me back up his shaft. “You said you didn’t want a gentleman, and I have no intention of fucking you like one.”

My eyes practically roll to the back of my head as he slams me down again. And again. And again. My body is on fire, burning from the inside out. It’s too much, yet I need more. I need it faster, rougher.

I hold on to his shoulders and fuck him, meeting him stoke for stroke, thrust for thrust. He’s pistoning into me from below, and I’m not going to back down.

His head falls back, his mouth open on a silent groan, andI lean away from him, aligning my hips so he hits just right. And—oh God.

We increase our pace, moving with wild abandon. I can’t stop, I can’t think. I can only feel.

Ryan brings a hand between us, his thumb rubbing my clit, and that’s all it takes for me to fall apart. My nails dig into his shoulders, my body trembles, and I cry out his name as an orgasm rips through me. My vision goes black and I see literal stars.

He thrusts into me once, twice more, and lets out a groan as he stills underneath me.

I fall forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my forehead to his. Ryan’s hands move up and down my back, his bright-blue eyes holding me captive. I can’t look away. I don’t want to. I want to stay here in this moment with him.

We stay like this for minutes, hours, letting the silence build, letting it cocoon us from the outside world.

“You know I love you, right?” He searches my face, his hands running up my thighs. “Like it’s crazy and fast and I sure as hell wasn’t prepared for you to knock me on my ass, but you did. You and Oliver are the family I didn’t know I needed.”

I try to bite back a smile, but it makes its way across my face anyway. “Mr. Devlin, are you trying to charm me?”

“Whatever it takes to make you mine.”

I huff a laugh, running my fingers through the hair at the base of his neck. “Didn’t you see the back of my sweatshirt? I’m already yours. I love you, even though I tried really hard not to.”

I feel like I was going to say something else, but his mouth is on mine, and he’s devouring me,consuming me. Our kiss is full of passion, of promise. A promise of a future, a life we can build together.

He crashed into my life, and there was no turning back. He was always meant to be it for me. I’m just glad we had a second chance.

That we got a touchdown—did I use that right? We scored?

As far as I can see, we’ve both already won at life. Maybe now we can win this football game.

FORTY-SEVEN

Ryan

I’m riding high,and I’ve never played so well in my life. I can’t believe I thought giving in to love, losing myself in June, would distract me from my career. It’s the complete opposite.

Doesn’t hurt that she’s sitting just off the sideline with Poppy and Kinsley, wearing a sweatshirt that lets everyone know she’s mine. I also bought her a jersey—one with my name on it—and tossed the one with Silas’s name in the trash. She won’t be needing it anymore.

The ref blows the whistle, and I look her way, blowing her a kiss that I know will have her blushing her ass off.

We’re at the bottom of the fourth quarter and up 16–10. There are five minutes left on the clock and all we need to do is hold them off.

Gunner is making the call, we’re getting into formation, and there’s the snap. The defensive linemen are on me, but Gunner sends the ball off to Heath Remington. He may be new to us, but he’s a hell of a player, and he’s done nothing but prove his worth today.

We picked up two yards. Third down and five more to go.

Sweat is pouring down my face, my muscles are burning, and I push through the pain, lining up for the next play. Vaughn has the ball, there’s the pass to Gunner, and Heath takes off running. I’m down almost immediately, this beefy-ass dude from Baltimore tackling me, bringing us both to the turf.

By the time I jump up, the whistle is blown, and Heath is lying on the field, grabbing the back of his leg. Dammit. That can’t be good. Pain, injuries, it’s the nature of the game, and I can only hope it’s something that he can bounce back quickly from.

And it looks like Baltimore got an interception. Double fuck.

Let’s hope our defense can hold them off.

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