“Oh. Right. Yeah. I’ll get on that.”

He disappeared into the bathroom and she smiled, then shimmied out of her shorts and underwear. She grabbed the elastic she had on her wrist and wound her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head.

The bathroom was already steamy warm when she walked in. And Nathan was naked. Awesome.

“You ready?” he asked.

She was ready to do many things with him. But first, she needed that bath. “Yes.”

He held out his hand for her and she stepped into the tub, settling into the water, which was hot and steamy and oh so perfect.

Nathan stepped in after her, and she was grateful she’d opted for the town house with the oversized soaker tub, because he was a big guy. He settled in behind her and pulled her against his chest. And even though it was a good-sized tub, he still had to sit with his knees bent.

“Feeling cramped?” she asked.

“I’m good. I have you—naked—leaning against me. Trust me, I’m really good.”

He reached for her sponge and dipped it in the water, then ran it over her breasts and shoulders. He repeated the action over and over again. Mia closed her eyes and let the warm water and Nathan’s attention melt the last of the day’s tensions away.

She opened her eyes and smoothed her hands over his knees, the crisp hairs on his legs tickling her palms. His thighs were massive compared to hers, and she pictured the way he looked in his uniform, those powerful legs used to dash away from defensive linemen as he positioned himself to throw the ball.

When he wrapped his arms around her, she used her fingers to map his forearms. So much muscle there, too.

She shifted in the tub to turn around, straddling his thighs.

Nathan arched a brow. “Shouldn’t you be under the water, relaxing?”

“I am relaxed. I want to ogle you.”

He cracked a smile. “Ogle? This is relaxing to you?”

“In ways I couldn’t possibly explain.” She traced a finger over his stomach, though it was somewhat covered by the water. Rippling, taut abs—a wall of solid muscle. “You have an amazing body, Nathan. So well-muscled. It speaks to the hard work you put into it.”

He grasped her hips and dragged her against his now-hard cock. “Whereas your body is all soft curves and these sweet angles I love to look at. But underneath that softness is muscle. You work hard at it, too. Did I mention how much I love your legs?”

She liked that he appreciated more than her tits and ass. Not that she had much in the breasts department anyway. She liked that he appreciated that, too.

“I believe you’ve stated that before.”

“You have great legs. I know you dig that yoga stuff, and I’ve watched people contort themselves into positions I could never get into.”

She squeezed her thighs against his. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ll bet you could if you tried.”

“Not sure I want to even try. I’d probably just embarrass myself. But you, you’re all grace and beauty and elegant lines. I could see you standing on your head and making it look sexy.”

As he talked to her, he was dragging her sex back and forth across his shaft, creating agonizing pleasure sparks that made it damn hard to pay attention to the conversation.

“Nathan.”

“Stand up, Mia.”

She pushed off his shoulders and stood, her body dripping water all over him.

“Now kneel against my shoulders.”

She shuddered as she realized what he had in mind, but she needed this, wanted it more than she could vocalize.

She braced her hands on the wall, and pressed her knees against his shoulders, spreading her legs for him. He cupped her butt and put his mouth on her.

His lips felt like hot melted butter spreading over her sex. She moaned and leaned into the delicious feel of his tongue lapping at her clit, lost in the heady sensations. She was intoxicated by the rush of heat and tingling pleasure. Her knees went weak and she was thankful she had the wall and Nathan to hold her up.

Nathan was relentless in his pursuit of her orgasm, and it didn’t take long. It stirred within her, quivering and vibrating with each lap of his tongue over her flesh. And when she came she shook all over, shuddering against him in forceful quakes that seemed to go on and on until she could barely stand anymore.

She finally sank into the water and wrapped herself around Nathan, kissing him with a deep passion that still quivered within her. He stood, taking her with him out of the tub. He laid her on the bathroom rug and left only long enough to get a condom. Then he was back, his body dripping over her as he opened the condom wrapper and put it on. He laid on top of her, spread her legs and thrust into her.

She was still quivering inside from that orgasm, her body tightening around him as he seated himself fully inside of her.

“Fuck,” was all he said as he grabbed hold of her butt and pushed himself deeper.

“Yes.” She wanted more. She wanted all of him.

And he gave it, pounding into her with hard, punishing thrusts that took her ever higher. She lifted her hips and wrapped her legs around him, needing that deeper contact.

She was going to come again, her pussy tightening around him like a vise.

“Yeah. That’s it, give it to me,” he said, tunneling with renewed force.

She went first, spiraling out of control with a wild cry as sweet pulses of orgasm flew through her.

Nathan went with her, taking her mouth in a deep kiss that made each sensation that much more pleasurable. It was like being sucked into a vortex of unimaginable sensation, so incredible she could hardly breathe. All she could do was hold on to him and ride it out.

After, she was spent and exhausted, like a limp noodle barely able to even move a limb.

Nathan rolled off of her and lay next to her.

“I might sleep here on the bathroom floor tonight,” she said.

He looked over at her. “Damned uncomfortable. Besides, now I’m thirsty.”

She sighed. “Demanding bastard. Fine, we’ll get up.”

He stood and helped her up. They got dressed, went downstairs and she fixed ice water for both of them. They ended up watching the rest of the baseball game, then Nathan said he had to leave.

He looked down at her. “Unless you want me to stay.”

She didn’t even hesitate. “Of course I want you to stay. I’ve missed you the past couple of weeks.”

“I have an early practice tomorrow. I was just thinking about you. I didn’t want to wake you.”

She crawled onto his lap. “I have a meeting in the morning. And if you wake me early . . .”

He cupped her butt and dragged her against his hard cock. “So many benefits to me spending the night.”

She grinned and dug her nails into his shoulder. “So many.”

TWENTY-NINE

IT WAS GAME DAY—THE FIRST PRESEASON GAME. Nathan had a lump of anxiety the size of Texas in his stomach. He really wished his dad was here, but he understood Dad’s reasons for not coming to the game. He had told him that showing up for the game would shift focus from Nathan and the team onto him, and he didn’t want that. So despite wanting to be there for Nathan, his mom and dad told him they’d watch every second of the game on TV.

He sucked in a breath as he listened to the raucous chatter of his teammates in the locker room. He couldn’t even focus on their talking, and fortunately it wasn’t directed at him anyway. But he was going to have to get his head straight before game time.

He didn’t have this much of a feeling of dread last year when he was a rookie, probably because he knew he wouldn’t be playing. Oh sure, he got playing time during the preseason. Everyone did. But otherwise he knew he’d spend the entire season warming the bench on the sidelines. So . . . zero stress.

Unlike today, when all eyes would be on him. The fans and all the media would be watching him to see if he was half the quarterback his father had been. The coaches would be checking him out, too.

He’d likely only play the first quarter, since the starters didn’t play much early in the preseason. Coaches had a roster to cut down and they had to evaluate all the players, which meant his playing time would be limited. He wasn’t sure if he was happy about that or not.

If he did great in the first quarter, then he’d be happy. If he sucked, then everyone would judge him based on that limited amount of playing time.