Ben collapsed halfway onto me, chest heaving, curls sticking up every which way.
After a long moment, he pressed a lazy kiss to my jaw. “Was that what you wanted?”
I nuzzled his chest, his heart pounding beneath my ear. “That was exactly it.”
“Good. My pretty birthday girl will always get what she wants.” He wrapped me up in his arms and held me for so long I started to drift off again. All too soon, he shifted beneath me, rumbling with dissatisfaction.
“What’s wrong?”
“I hate this, but I need to get to the stadium.” He kissed the top of my head. “Staying in bed all day with you sounds a hell of a lot better.”
I gave his chest a shove, but didn’t move off him. “Get going, lazy.”
He rolled me fully on top of him and carved his fingers through the sides of my hair, tilting my head back. I peered athim through sleepy, sated eyes, and his mouth tipped into a soft grin.
“My first present is a trip to the hotel spa.” His fingers caressed along my jaw. “You can go back to sleep for a while, then you need to get your pretty ass up and head down there. You can have whatever treatments you like.”
“I’ve never been to a spa,” I admitted. “I won’t know how to conduct myself.”
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I thought it might be nice—”
I cupped his jaw. “Yes. I mean, no, I do want to. You surprised me, but I’m excited. Thank you, Benny.”
He kissed my nose. “Just trying to keep you busy so you don’t get into trouble while I’m gone.”
I laughed. “Oh, I see your ulterior motive. This has nothing to do with you being generous and sweet.”
“Nope.” The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Nothing at all.”
The hotel spa was a dream. All I had to do was show up, and the staff took care of the rest. I was rubbed, scrubbed, wrapped, and shined. After all the treatments, I was whisked to the salon to have my hair and makeup done. By the time I arrived at the stadium to watch Ben’s match, my muscles were jelly and I’d been thoroughly pampered.
My hair in perfect waves. My makeup darker and more sultry than I’d ever had it. In a Mountain Lions–blue, low-cut, V-neck top and my best jeans that always worked wonders for my butt, I’d never looked better.
This time, I was sitting in regular seats next to the other girlfriends and wives of the players. I was nervous when Iarrived, but I shouldn’t have been. They all knew exactly who I was. Katty too.
Our seats were front row—directly along the Mountain Lions’ path when they jogged out. Ben homed in on me immediately, stopping in his tracks when he was in front of me.
“Holy shit, birthday girl,” he choked out as he pushed himself up the barrier to get closer. “How am I supposed to play with you looking like that?”
The crowd roared around us, but we only had eyes for each other. I’d always thought men in uniforms were attractive, but holy moly, no one had ever held a candle to Ben in his rugby gear.
I leaned forward, giving him a clear shot of my cleavage. “All I want for my birthday is for you to smash some heads and win this match for me. Think you can do it?”
“Put those lips on mine, and I’ll make it happen.”
I cupped the underside of his jaw and kissed him hard and fast. “Good luck, Benny.”
He huffed. “You want me to win, you better try again, baby.”
With a laugh, I kissed him again, taking my time. He slipped his tongue between my lips, licking into my mouth like we were the only ones around. It was messy and wet, and my lipstick was definitely destroyed, but I loved it. When he finally pulled away, I was still chasing his mouth for more.
He swiped his thumb beneath my bottom lip. “I’m gonna get benched if I don’t go.”
“Wait.” I wiped my lipstick off his mouth. “There. Now you can go smash some heads.”
“See you soon.” He dropped to the grass, gave me one last look, and ran off to join his team.
The woman beside me nudged me with her elbow. “Oooh, girl, you’re in trouble with that one.”
