Page 71 of A Quarterback for Christmas

I know it’s notpeopleshe’s afraid of, but Bri. All Bri was doing was asking me about a football party, but Bella couldn’t handle it. The minute she saw her in the gym yesterday, she turned into a pile of goo and went all floppy on Jacob. I thought I’d likeseeing her fall to pieces over me, to see her finally feel the things that I’ve been feeling for her for years, but all it did was make me want to go over and kiss the crap out of her to make it all go away.

And therein lies the problem with Bella.

She’s a walking red flag, but I keep coming back like a moth to a flame. Always lingering and wanting to get burned. “Still. Being surrounded by people doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to sneak into my backyard at six a.m. to talk. Firstly, it makes you look like a creeper, and secondly, I could have shot you dead if I thought you were a black bear.”

“You don’t have a gun, and I’m not big enough to be a black bear.” There’s a moment of silence between us as we stare at each other in the mirror.

“I’m going to ask one more time, B. What are you doing here? We’ve already talked, and talking gets us nowhere.”

“I missed you.” Her body deflates when she says those words, but my heart swells. She raises her hands and looks at me with defeat clear in her eyes. “I get it. I didn’t say or do the right things when I had the chance to, but I’m here now because I know that was a huge mistake. I thought getting over you would be easy after you rejected me at my dad’s. It’d only been a day of hot sex, after all, and I thought that maybe my dad interrupting us was a sign.”

“What makes you think it wasn’t?”

“The fact that I can’t get over you. You’re too big a part of my life, Drew. Whether you’re annoying the crap out of me because you’re sucking up to my dad or making me feel like the only person on earth, it’s always been you.”

She flicks her gaze down to her bitten nails before continuing, “my soul was nearly crushed when you said you’d moved on. I couldn't handle the idea that it wasn’t me you were chasing anymore, and that’s when it all hit me, deep in my stomach. I’dmade the biggest mistake of my life but had no way to fix it. These last five weeks have only emphasized it. I’ve felt like I’ve been missing something. Like a little piece of myself has been chipped away, and I don’t want that piece to be lost forever.”

Her chest is heaving from emotion, and I don’t know what to say. I’ve felt exactly the same way for years but never expected to hear this coming from her. Bella’s face is flushed, and her brows curve with concern.

“Say something. Please.” As she sits next to me, knocking her knee against mine, I can see the doubt forming across her face.

Something about that look tugs at my heart.

So, I choose to wipe it off her face.

Holding her cheeks in my palms, I swallow her gasp with a kiss, pouring everything into it, and remind her just how great we feel together. We’re a mess of tongue and hands, biting then nipping, but everything about this feels right.

Clawing at her back, she scratches mine, painting it with her mark. It’s like touching her has opened something feral in me, and I can’t help but want more. As I pick her up, she squeals into our kiss, and I stand, walking our now connected bodies to the mirror.

Pressing her back against it, I kiss down her jaw and neck, tasting her salty skin. She ran here, so I want to soothe those aching muscles of hers.

“Oh, God.” Bella arches her back against the mirror when I nibble at her collarbone, and I take that as an opportunity to pull my sweatshirt off her.

Wearing this tiny little black cami underneath, I can’t keep my hands off her. I cup her breasts, feeling her already erect nipples, and I toy with them under my thumb. The fabric scratches against my palm as I tickle the skin of her collarbone with my tongue, eliciting a sharp gasp from her.

Bella’s body is perfect, her breaths are flawless. Everything about her has been made to turn me on, and she doesn’t even realize it.

Biting at the small strap of her top, I pull it down over her shoulder and follow the fabric with my tongue until I meet the arch of her breast. I squeeze her before replacing my hand with my lips, kissing and nibbling her nipples until I hear her perfect moan.

Delicious.

Everything about her makes me want to indulge.

I drop her legs to the floor to remove her sweats, but just as my hands reach the waistband, she lets out a small, painful mewl. “Everything okay?” I breathe against her lips.

She winces, pushing her face away, and hobbles a little. “Yeah, it’s just my foot hasn’t completely healed, and the run here didn’t exactly help that process along. It kind of hurts,” she admits.

I bring her thighs back around my waist and balance her between my body and the mirror. “Is this position better?”

Bella bites her bottom lip with a smile and nods, so I bend down and kiss her. Unfortunately, the slippery surface of the mirror makes focusing on what I want to do nearly impossible.

That’s when a bright yellow and black piece of equipment catches my eye in the mirror, and I grin.

“Do you trust me?” I ask, kissing her on the cheek and squeezing her hips. She nods with a little whimper as she slips down the mirror. “I think I’ve got a better idea.”

I grab her ass and bounce her body so it’s flush against mine. Kissing the valley between her breasts, I say, “hold on tight.” She wraps her arms around my neck, and I walk us toward the TRX straps. “Can you stand for just a second?” Bella drops her legs, and stands, leaning against one of our weight machines.

When I see she’s safely supported, I turn and get to work.

---