Tangled with the Tight End (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 15

fifteen

GAbrIEL

Coming here was a bad decision. That’s not entirely true. I need to apologize for my behavior this afternoon, but I did that on the other side of the door. Asking to come in was the bad decision. I need to stay away from her. I’m due to return to Kansas City on Monday and my entire focus needs to be on football and getting back to my team.

That’s all I’ve ever done. But somehow, my head is spinning, and I don’t know which way to go. Do I focus on Gino and retire from football? Can I play football and be a good father? What happens if I injure my knee again? What happens if the team doctor says I’ll never step foot on the field again?

My stomach churns as these thoughts wash over me one by one. Three months ago, I didn’t worry about anything besides getting 10 yards down the field, juking a guy, and turning to my left to catch a pass from Gunner. Now, my entire world is in a tailspin, and the only thing that feels right is Norah.

I swallow hard as she stares with worried eyes. “I shouldn’t have come.”

She licks her lips. “Why did you come?”

I rake a hand through my hair and meet her gaze. “When I first met you, I didn’t think I liked you.”

She laughs and relaxes on the sofa cushions. “Funny, I didn’t like you either.”

“I know.” I inhale. “But somehow you’ve grown on me.”

“Grown on you?” She nods. “Nice. That’s a compliment.”

“You’re welcome.” My heart skips a beat as I move closer and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. The dilating of her pupils and the fluttering of her skin as her heart beats erratically, giving me hope that I’m not off base and about to make an ass of myself. “My world is kind of a mess, right now. But it seems a little less chaotic when I’m with you.”

“Yeah? Well, it’s the opposite for me. My world is all planned out, and you come along and mess it up.”

“Is that bad?”

“It’s not good.” She shrugs. “I’m attracted to you, but I shouldn’t be. We don’t fit together. You love the city, and your heart is on the field. I’m a girl who loves serene lakes, baking, and hanging out with my friends. Here in Evergreen Lake.”

“You’re right.” I have enough turmoil in my life, and asking her to wait three years for my world to straighten out is selfish, but what else can I offer her? A week of pleasure? Two weeks at the most? That is even more selfish.

I rub my hands on my jeans and stand. “Forget I said anything. It was…. Thoughtless.”

“What do you want? Honestly, what do you want?” She stands and stops a few inches from me. Her chest rises and falls as she breathes, and my entire focus shifts from everything weighing down on me to the only thing that feels right. Her.

I cup her face and run my thumb over her cheekbone. “I want you. I want to get to know you better. I want to kiss you until nothing else matters in the world. I want to sweep you off your feet and forget everything else.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“I know.” Darkness settles around me as I step back and drop my arm to my side. “I understand why you’re not interested, and I don’t blame you. My divorce isn’t final until January, I have a kid, I’m currently on injured reserve, and I repeatedly act like an ass when I’m around you.”

Her lips curve upwards as she walks to me and places her hands on my chest. Her fingers shake, so I clasp them to keep them steady. “I want you, too. But you must agree it’s only until you return to Kansas City.”

My stomach cramps. That’s not long enough. “I go back on Monday for a check-up.”

“When you go back for good….” Her eyes are serious. “This ends. Let’s not pretend we can make anything else out of this other than a couple of weeks of fun.”

Every instinct inside of me rebels at her words. Isn’t it the guy who’s supposed to say, ‘Hey, let’s hook-up while I’m on vacation?’ But instead, it’s Norah demanding that I promise something I don’t want to.

“We both know this isn’t going to work long-term. You have plans for your future, and I have plans for mine, and they don’t go together. So, to avoid any hard feelings or disappointment, we’ll get it out of the way now. This is a vacation fling between two adults who’re attracted to each other, and that’s it.”

No, that’s not it. I want…. I want what? She’s right. Despite my brother’s insistence that I retire, and we open a restaurant together, I don’t belong here. What’s he even thinking? He doesn’t know the first thing about running a business. I’m the one who went to college to study business management.

And it’s clear she’s not leaving. Hell, next year, she’ll probably marry Sawyer and have two kids before I retire from football. Uncontrolled rage settles in my chest as I envision them walking down the streets of Evergreen Lake together.

That’s complete and utter bullshit. She doesn’t love him. Dude, she doesn’t love you either. People in love make sacrifices for each other. They compromise. Fuck. They know each other. I don’t even know Norah’s middle name.

“What’s your middle name?” The words fly out of my mouth.

“What?” She blinks at me like I’m crazy.

“What’s your middle name?” The panic swelling inside of me is impossible to tamp down.

“Abigail.”

The tension eases as the word plays in my head and I lean down until our foreheads touch. “Norah, will you let me kiss you?”

Her nod is barely perceptible. I cup her face and stare into her crystal blue eyes. Her eyes swirl with a mixture of emotions I can’t identify. Because I don’t know her. And never will.

Fuck. Anger licks at me, spurring me forward.

When my lips land on hers, she whimpers, but rather than baulking at my vicious attack, her arms go around my neck, and she plasters her body to mine until our chests heave in unison and my dick presses into her belly. She feels perfect against me. Soft curves against my hard body.

I suck her bottom lip into my mouth and flick my tongue over the plump flesh. I want to devour her. I want her to eat her words and beg me to never leave. My heart drops to my feet. Where did that thought come from? Is that what I want? I shove the thought back into the recesses of my brain as her nails dig into my skull, and every inch of my restraint dissolves.

After I let go of her bottom lip, I dive inside her mouth, loving the feel of her tongue thrusting against mine. She arches against me and moans, sending a quake throughout my body. Her desperation seems to match mine as I shift her stance until her thighs are squeezing my leg.

She rocks against me as I caress her body, exploring her back, her waist, and finally grabbing her ass. She gasps, and I suck down her pleasure with raw determination. I’ve never wanted anyone like this. Hell, I’ve never wanted to want anyone like this. It’s dangerous. It’s reckless. It’s pure magic. I trail my mouth and tongue along her jaw and down the slender column of her neck.

“Please, don’t stop.” She arches her neck toward me and grinds on my thigh.

I flick my tongue over the sensitive hollow and growl as her eager movements make my balls ache. “Slow down, baby. It’s been a long time for me.”

She shivers but doesn’t stop. Rather than stopping, she slips her hands under my T-shirt and scrapes her nails down my back. “I don’t want to stop. It feels this good. You feel this good.”

I suck down her essence and seal my fate. She’s going to destroy me, and I’m going to let her. I’m afraid I’d gladly walk with the devil to please this woman.