Page 159 of Changing Rules

Groaning, he rolls his hips. “Say it again.”

“I’m yours…”Thrust. “I’m only yours, Xander…”Thrust. “Always.”Thrust.

I say it over and over as he drives into me, merciless at first, then shifting to tender and steady. He’s the essence of everything I’ve ever wanted in a man, of everything I’ve ever needed.

It’s wild to think that the night I met him, I was standing at another man’s side. Destiny and its sense of humor never cease to amaze me.

CHAPTER 43

EVEN IF WE LOSE, I WIN

XANDER

February

I never could’ve predictedwe’d be here, despite how much I wanted it. After a struggling season, then Miller’s offenses, the Super Bowl almost felt like a pipe dream. Yet here we are.

We’re not set to take the field for another thirty minutes, but I’m restless, so I leave the locker room and pace the hallway.

I’ve only made it a couple passes before Drew steps out.

“How do you feel?” He leans against the wall, helmet in hand.

I stop too, hit with a sense of déjà vu. It feels like an eternity has passed since we won the Super Bowl, but at the same time, it feels like it happened yesterday.

“We’re going to win; I can feel it.”

“Don’t get too cocky. The Mustangs had an amazing season,” he lectures me with a serious expression on his face. Daddy Drew is back.

“There’s a fine line between confident and cocky. I believe in my team, and in myself, and it gives me the motivation to push forward. That’s all I mean.”

He looks me up and down, a smirk on his lips. “Riling you up is the easiest way to get myself pumped up for the game. Sorry.”

“No you’re fucking not!” I burst out laughing. “Before I met Bella, I always psyched myself up by watching game tapes or going for a run. Now, just her presence is all the boost I need. Always.”

“Saw her earlier, by the way. I didn’t even recognize her at first. She was talking to Kelly, my son in her arms, and I was like, who the hell is that stranger holding my boy? Then she smiled and waved, and it hit me.”

“Yeah, she’s hoping to stay off the radar. Can you imagine what will happen if they realize she’s here?” I shake my head. “She’s had enough shit to deal with since the attack.”

For several minutes, we stand side by side in silence. Eventually, I take a deep breath and push myself away from the wall. “Should we head in? We have a game to win.”

“We sure do, captain.” Drew winks and turns toward the locker room.

With forty-five secondsleft on the game clock, Coach uses our last time-out. Sweat drips from my forehead. Anger simmers in my bones. Our every attempt to score in the last quarter has failed. I’ve been taken down more in the last fifteen minutes than in the rest of the game combined. My left side is bruised and painful, and when Marco nudges me with his elbow, I can barely stop myself from biting his head off.

We’ve kept the Mustangs from scoring too, but they’re up by five. It’s fifteen to twenty. All they need to do is run out the clock, and it’s over.

“I want to risk it all,” I mutter between two shallow breaths, garnering the attention of all the guys in the huddle. I lock eyes with Coach. “We have forty-five seconds?—”

“I’m in. Whatever you have in mind, I’m in.” Drew smiles at me. “Let’s show these motherfuckers what the Warriors are capable of.”

“How about the flea flicker?” I suggest, glancing at Coach.

For a moment, he purses his lips, but then he breaks into a smile. “It could work.” He tips his head down. “I-formation, then.”

As we take our positions, I focus on my breath, getting into the right headspace. I want this game to be ours. I want to leave the Warriors with two Super Bowl rings. I want the guys to remember how great we played when we were together.

But even if we lose, I’m still a winner, because I have the most precious thing in the world: the immense love of my woman. She’s my other half. Iama winner already…but I still want to be the best on the field too.

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