“Ready?” He pops his head back in the door, and I see he’s fully clothed.
Walking over to him, I tug his shirt off. “Am now.”
He growls, but doesn’t take too long to protest as I hug him from the back and begin walking with him, trying not to clip his heels.
“I didn’t know your sister had a hot tub,” I whisper.
“It’s back in the corner. She’s paranoid about one of the kids getting in it. It’s just a small one.”
“Nice.” I kiss his back as I follow him through the kitchen. I relax even more into him as he doesn’t growl or tense up this time.
“They call it their personal soak and poke.”
“Ewww.” I slap his shoulder. “Tuck, that’s gross.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure Joe has it well cleaned with chemicals, but I’m pretty sure they made a baby or two in it.”
“Stop.” I pull back to walk down the stairs.
His laughter soothes my heart, and I know in this moment that is a sound I want to hear the rest of my life. Before I know what’s going on, he sweeps me off my feet and wraps me in his arms.
“Jones broke the line, he’s at the thirty, now the twenty, and he jumps over a defender.” He calls the plays out as he jogs to the hot tub, carrying me. “One defender left. Can Jones go all the way?”
He drags his voice out just like a commentator would, and I laugh the whole way. The damn laughter causes my side to hurt worse than his jogging and juke moves.
“Touchdown,” he roars as he places my bottom on the edge of the hot tub.
I wrap my legs around his torso and tug him closer into me.
“I think we’ve both scored. You do know I’m your biggest fan, right, Tuck Jones?”
“I’m starting to realize it.”
He pulls my shirt off, and I sit bare before him in the moonlight. I use my toes to dig into the waistline of his gym shorts and inch them down.
“God, you have a huge ass, Tuck.” My toes struggle to get his shorts over his big ol’ booty.
“I work out.” A sly smile dances on his face, and I lean forward and kiss it.
When he’s completely stripped, I pull him in as close as possible and wrap my arms under his, cupping the back of his shoulders.
“This is us, Tuck. Nothing between us ever again.”
“This is us,” he repeats as he bends over and kisses me lightly on the lips. “You’re nipping out.”
We both enter a fit of laughter as the night chills my body and goose bumps attack my skin.
“It’s cold.” I turn in his grip and swing my legs over into the hot water. It’s a welcoming feeling compared to the cool air. Slowly, I sink lower into the hot tub. Tuck was correct about it being a small one; it’s probably a three person hot tub at best. And I try my best to avoid all thoughts of Joe and Austin baby-making in here.
“Here.” Tuck’s outstretched hand holds all my pills. “Take them, and no arguing.”
“But…”
“No damn buts. I can see the pain all over your face.”
I know it’s a losing battle and the last thing I want to do is fight with this stubborn ass.
“Fine.” I snag the bottle of water from his hands and down the pills. “But get your ass in here so we can have some fun before the meds knock me out.”
He sets the bottle on the ledge. “I never said I gave you the strong painkiller.”
He winks at me and then hops in, not caring that he sent gallons of water splashing over the edge. I crawl into his lap and straddle him, facing him, and it’s like an automatic trigger neither of us can control. His lips meet mine hard and fast, not hesitating as I run my hands all over his back and shoulders, gripping down tightly into his flesh when he bites my lower lip. My hips begin to grind into him and find him hard and ready.
“Again?” I pull back with a questioning look.
“I told you that you’ve released something vicious inside of me.”
“By all means, I’m not complaining, lover boy.”
It only takes one swift movement of my hips and I slowly sink down on him. Just like everything Tuck, he’s hard and huge down in the boy department. It takes several moments for my body to adjust to him, and I relish every single second of it. He lays his head back on the ledge, then puts his hands on my hips, guiding me up and down.
We start out slow, but within moments we’re rocking against each other at a rapid pace.
“Tuck, slow down,” I beg.
The friction is so delicious I’m being pushed to my limits before I’m ready. I wind my hands in his hair and tug him up to me, pulling hard as I contain my screams of pleasure when I fall apart on the man who has captured my heart.
I melt into him, limp and unable to move from sheer exhaustion and the ecstasy coursing through my veins. Tuck moves me about in the deliciously hot water. My knees are propped up on the edge with my nipples now rubbing on the same ledge his head was just resting on, and then I feel him enter me from behind and can’t hold back a loud moan. Our bodies meld, twist, and contort together until he finds the perfect position. His palms splay across my abdomen as both of my arms are wrapped back around his head, and with each thrust I feel him move closer and closer to letting go.
He tugs on my hair, pulling me as close to him as possible, then nips my ear, and I feel him let go. It’s a sensation I’ll never get tired of. We swirl and twirl until we are back in the same position we started out in.
“Thank you, Tuck.”
He quirks up one questioning eyebrow.
“For letting me in.” I splash water up in his beautiful face, trying to lighten the mood. “And for a virgin, you have some moves, boy.”
“I never said I haven’t watched porn and used my hand.”
“You’re full of surprises, Tuck Jones.”
I rest my head on his shoulder and let him rub my back up and down in the soothing water. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’d give everything up for this man, and I don’t mean like ‘the girl lost her way, hopeless heroine.’ I mean in the way where I’ll fight like a strong woman for this man who deserves to be loved in every way possible.
“Blue?”
“Yeah?” My eyes were shut, and I had every intent of drifting off to sleep.
“Did we just make a baby?”
“No, your sperm was blocked.”
“Uh…”
“I’m on birth control.”
I feel his muscles relax, and his hands go back to rubbing my back.
Chapter 24
Leaving Joe’s house is harder than I thought it would be. Tuck and I spent the last three nights in the hot tub lit by the moonlight, exploring each other into the wee hours. We won’t have this back at campus with both of our rigorous schedules, and that sucks. I want to stay here with him forever.
My jawline has healed amazingly well, with only light bruising left behind, but nothing my make-up can’t handle. It’s the bruises all up and down my legs that will be hard to conceal. There are five days until the next home game, and I can only hope they magically disappear by then. I’ll cover them up with long spandex pants at practice, and I know my secret is safe with Sophie, Lane, and Noah. It doesn’t make the fact I was brutally attack any easier to digest. I’ve kept it bottled up inside, hoping the lingering fear will dissipate one day. Tuck has brought it up several times and won’t let it go. I know I should tell my parents, and I know I should tell campus security, but call me greedy—I just want to go on with my life.
“Buckle up and give me another hug.”
Joe wraps Tuck up into a hug and hangs from his body. It’s hard not to cry seeing the two of them together and knowing what they’ve gone through. Tuck opened up the other night and told me everything about the house fire. I fought to hold my tears back, but when he told me it was because of his mother who cradled him in her arms until the firefighters got to him, I lost it. In fact, I lost every single ounce of pain I thought I’d ever experienced in my life. It’s the reason his face and other parts weren’t burned. And then hearing about the countless surgeries he’s been through shattered me.