Page 34 of The Secret Play

“Yeah. Definitely. I get a slight taste of it with my job—being coach means you have to rally the team, get them to listen to you, tell them what to do, show them how to do it—it’s a lot like parenting, I would imagine.”

I nodded. “That’s a lot of what I do each day, actually.”

“And my cousins all have kids of their own, so when we hang out, I love seeing the world from their perspective. Kids are pure, you know? They see things other people don’t. They’re brutally honest without meaning to be, and I like that. Adults…we lose that innocence somewhere along the way to adulthood. Honesty becomes a scarce resource.”

I swallowed too big of a gulp. “True.”

“I require honesty in a relationship, Gemma. It’s fundamental to the health of it. So, cards on the table, if there’s ever anything you need to tell me, I want you to just tell me. No bullshit, no games. If we’re going to make this work, that’s what I need. That make sense?”

My heart weighed too much. It squeezed the air from my lungs. “Yeah.”

“What do you need from me to make this work?”

I couldn’t say it. Not now, though. Not when my tongue was tied in knots.

I went another way. Hooking my hand into his collar, I pulled him close and slanted my mouth over his wine-flavored lips. He clutched at my waist to pull me into his lap, and once I straddled him and felt his hardness through our clothes, all sense of the world fell away.

The kiss deepened, heady and firm, and before I knew it, our clothes had peeled away almost of their own accord. His hands traced the curve of my back as my fingers tangled in his hair.

“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice low and rough.

“Yes,” I whispered, pulling him closer.

This time, he produced a condom from his pocket and slid it on without another word. I was practically panting for him, and the moment I took him into me, we both let out a breath of relief. This was what we needed, honesty be damned.

His every inch fit perfectly inside of me, leaving me shaking. Riding him, I drove my nails into his shoulders as he grabbed my ass and pumped me up and down his length. “That’s it, baby, you’re doing so good, taking my cock like that.” His hands slid around my hips and down my thighs as he leaned back to watch me. “Let me see you.”

I slowed to a stop. My words shuddered out, “What do you mean?”

A sly smile spread across his mouth. “Give me a show.”

He wanted a show? I’d give him one. I pulled up off of him and stood, his eyes at hip level, clearly enamored of me naked in front of him. I turned around and carefully aimed him back inside as I sat facing away from his hungry eyes. The fit was different, hitting new spots that made me tremble harder.

As I started to ride him again, he groaned, “Fuck.” His hands gripped my ass, squeezing tight.

“Liking the show?”

“Too much.”

I glanced over my shoulder at him. “No such thing.” I rolled my body against his, taking everything he had to give me. Bouncing on him, my own climax threatened me with a good time. But when he reached around my hip and played my clit, I lost myself to it. My head whipped back against his shoulder, and I was utterly helpless in his hands as I came.

He growled in my ear, “That’s a good girl, mm, fuck, baby just like that. Come on my cock.”

“I am,” I whimpered.

He grabbed my hips harder this time and lifted himself up, turning us until I was bent over the couch armrest, and he was behind me. The movement stretched me in the strangest way, and it made me ache from my orgasm. Our bodies slapped together hard, over and over, while he made me erupt all over again.

But when it was done, he wrapped his arms around me, still bent over my body. He planted kisses along the back of my neck as he murmured, “Next time, I’m getting you in a bed.”

“Huh?”

“We haven’t had enough room to stretch out just yet, and I want to find out just how flexible you are. I think you’re a human pretzel.” He licked the sweat from my neck, making me shiver. “Would you like to test that theory?”

What else could I say but “Yes?”

“Good girl.” He slammed deep and started up again, this time fisting my hair as he worked me over. I couldn’t do anything but let him have at me, and right now, that was the only thing stopping me from telling him we’d had a bed our first time.

I couldn’t say that. He didn’t know.

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