Page 41 of Scoring Position

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he whispers in my ear, making tears prick at the backs of my eyes. “Thank you.”

I bring my arms around his neck, digging my fingers gently into his skin as if he’ll disappear if I let him go—even though I know he won’t. “Thankyoufor reminding me who I am. I got lost for a while, but you found me and brought me back.”

He picks his head up, brushing a sweat-soaked strand of hair from my cheek. “I’ll always find you, baby. In this life and all the others.”

We lie there for a while, breathing each other in until he finally reaches over, grabbing a bottle of water from the nightstand. “Drink for me,” he says, and I look at him with a questioning expression before taking it from his hand.

He rolls his eyes. “You need aftercare. I was rough and said some extremely mean things to you. Now you need water and candy.” He leans back over, swiping a bag of sour gummy worms and holding it up in front of me as I sip the water. I snag it quickly, biting one in half before offering him the rest. He takes it, settling in and pulling me into his hard body. “You also need lots of cuddles.”

“Mmm,” I hum contentedly, snuggling into him. “Somebody paid attention to their lesson on kinks and fetishes.” He’s doing a stellar job, but if I’m honest, I don’t even need aftercare. I feel like the sex was enough to make me feel respected and cherished.

“Well, between you and me,” he says, looking around dramatically as if he has a secret, “I have a major boner for my tutor, so I’m trying to impress her.”

I giggle, shoving at him playfully, but he just holds me tighter, making me sink back into his chest. “You’re such a little shit.”

TWENTY-FOUR

ACE

“Why am I here again?”Lark says, digging her heels into the ground in an attempt to resist as I pull her toward the door of the Fury practice facility. It’s All-Star weekend, so we have three days off in a row, which I plan on taking full advantage of. My final exam is coming next week, and I need all the study time I can get.

“Because,” I say, stopping and turning toward her. “I want you to read to me while I work out.”

She raises a brow. “You want me to read about the sperm’s journey during conception in front of your teammates while you lift weights?”

I reach for her hand, but she pulls away, turning so I can’t get ahold of her. “Yes,” I reply, annoyed. “Riggs will love it. All he talks about is how hot Monroe is going to be when he gets her pregnant.” He’s not even here, but I’m trying to ease her mind so she’ll stop being so combative. I need this review.

“That’s called a breeding kink, Ace. It doesn’t mean he wants to listen to me blather on about how babies are made. Everyone is going to wonder who brought the crazy lady. I’m not going in there.”

“Okay, fine,” I say, pretending to give up. As soon as she lets her guard down, I dart toward her, bending at the knees and throwing her over my shoulder.

“Put me down!” she shouts, beating on my back with the textbook she has clutched in both hands.

“Will you quit it?” I reply, arching every time she slaps the hard cover against me because,shit, that stings. I walk toward the door, swinging it open and marching past security with a wave as she fights to get free. As soon as we hit the empty hallway that leads to the gym, I slap my hand against her ass, making her stiffen.

“You didnotjust spank me, Mathers!” she says on a gasp.

“Yes, I did. Maybe if you’d do as you’re told, I wouldn’t have to punish you.” My voice is stern, but as usual, I’m having fun going back and forth with her. It’s who we are, and it’s why we work so well. When she needs some excitement in her life, I’m here to remind her that it’s okay to act like a kid every once in a while.

She slumps against me, hanging like a rag doll as I make my way toward the weight room. “I just didn’t want you to blow your back out. Jeez,” she mumbles quietly.

I stop, sliding her down my body until her feet hit the floor. She rights her clothes, and I grip her cheeks roughly between my thumb and fingers, forcing her to look up at me with wide blue eyes. “Don’t insult me, Sweets. You’re half my warm-up weight. I could lift you with two fingers. So, the only person who will be getting their back blown out”—I pause and press a kiss to her squished lips—“is you when we’re done here. Now let’s fucking go.”

She huffs a breath, throwing her head back dramatically and taking my offered hand as I usher her through the wide metal doors that lead to the Daytona Fury training center. It’s fairly empty today because we aren’t required to be here, and becausesome of the guys, like Riggs and Hawk, are playing in the All-Star Game. One day, I’ll get there. Until then, I’m happy paying my dues right here. Plus, it would’ve been a real shit show if I had to spend the last week I have to prepare for my Human Sexuality final in Houston doing all the public appearances that come with playing in the game.

“There’s my little sharpshooter!” Jackson shouts as he runs up to us, wrapping Lark in his arms and lifting her off the floor. “What’s up, girl?” She giggles as he puts her down, and I weave my fingers back through hers because pissing on her leg like a dog probably wouldn’t go over well. I know Jacks is a flirt, and his behavior doesn’t mean he’s hitting on her, but I still want to make it crystal clear that she’s mine.

“I’m good,” she replies, leaning into me slightly. The gesture makes my heart squeeze in my chest because just a few weeks ago, she was hell-bent on making sure nobody knew we were anything more than tutor and student. We never really talked about it, but I guess our night out at the bar was when everything shifted between us. Sure,we knewwe were role-playing, but from the outside, the few people who were still there saw us—Ace and Lark—all over each other.

“This guy giving you any trouble with that?” he says, pointing toward the textbook she’s hugging to her chest.

She shakes her head, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “He’s been a model student. Very…interestedin the course material.” I smirk, lifting my chin smugly because, damn right, I am. I’ve demonstrated my understanding of what I’ve learnedseveral times,including once this morning when I made her ride my face while she gripped the headboard like her life depended on it. Then, I tossed her sated body onto the mattress and fucked her until she was dripping my cum all over the sheets.

Jackson sucks his teeth, sliding his knowing gaze over to me. “Yeah, I bet he is. You two kids have fun.” He ruffles Lark’s hairand extends his hand to me for a high five before taking off in the direction of the athletic trainer’s office.

“Come on,” I say, pulling her toward the squat machine. As a catcher, working my legs and glutes is important because I’m up and down a lot, often very quickly. I need to make sure my body is in top shape to do so. I slide a metal folding chair over so she’s close enough that I can hear as she reads, but not so far that everyone else in the place can. Motioning for her to sit, I make sure she’s comfortable before stretching so I don’t hurt myself. “Can we go over the development of the embryo before and after implantation? I think I get it for the most part, but I keep mixing up the stages.”

“Yeah,” she replies, opening the textbook. I finish warming up and walk to the machine, adding the correct amount of weight before settling my shoulders under the pads with my back facing her. “So, before it becomes an embryo, the zygote makes its way to the uterus, where the endometrial lining is thickening in preparation for its arrival.”

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