AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He stared at Lennox’s retreating form for a moment, then turned his icy gaze to my face, and I shifted around so I didn’t have my back to him.
“Convenient?” I asked.
He nodded as he straightened and sauntered to stand before me. His eyes darted over my shoulder again, and something flashed across his face, but it was gone before I could figure out the emotion. “Yeah. It seems like a big fucking coincidence that you suddenly got yourself a girlfriend right when they were picking Prentice’s replacement.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and kept my expression neutral when I responded, “Talia had nothing to do with how I earned that spot.”
Trent rolled his eyes. “Bullshit, Summers. You think I didn’t figure out that you found someone to play your girlfriend to get an edge over me? We both know I’m the superior player.”
I almost laughed, but Trent had clearly had a few beers, and I didn’t want to cause a scene. “When you were eavesdropping on my conversation with Lennox, did you miss the part about earning that spot on my merits?”
Trent snorted. “I damn sure heard him basically assure you of a new contract if you kept dating this chick. I was surprised you brought her today. I figured you’d dump her once you were chosen.” His eyes slid over my shoulder, and the corners of his mouth turned up. “Does she know you’re dragging out this fake relationship so you can get a better contract? I’d be careful not to let her fall in love with you just to get her heart broken when you cast her aside.”
I heard a noise behind me and twisted my head around to see Talia standing a foot away. Her lips were pursed, and she blinked a few times, clearly holding back tears.Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Damn Trent and his acidic mouth.
“I’m available when he dumps your ass,” Trent sniggered before draining his bottle and tossing it into a trash can by the deck steps.
My hands balled as I turned back to my teammate. Kicking his ass could ruin the chance I’d been given with the Nighthawks and possibly with Talia. So I swallowed hard and pushed away the desire to shove his balls back up into his body with my foot. Instead, I snarled, “Go sleep it off, asshole, and stay the fuck away from my girl.”
Trent opened his mouth, but I took a menacing step forward. He wasn’t a small guy, but I still outweighed him by at least fifty pounds and had several inches on him. He considered his options for a beat, then threw me a scathing expression before he pivoted on his heel and trudged away with his tail between his legs.
When I finally returned my attention to Talia, she’d cleared away the emotion on her face and stared at me with a fake smile. I fucking hated that smile.
“I’m sorry about him,” I muttered as I took a step closer to her.
“Don’t worry about it,” she chirped in an overly bright voice. Then she let out a self-deprecating chuckle as she shook her head. “For a minute there, I forgot this was all fake.”
Her words were like a slap in the face. She still thought this wasn’t real? Hadn’t I made that clear when I’d told her she was mine, claimed her cherry, and taken her bare, filling her with my come over and over, intent on knocking her up?
I glanced around at the yard teeming with my teammates and their families. This was not the place to have this discussion. “We need to talk,” I growled. “Alone.”
13
TALIA
Iwanted to kick myself for falling hard and fast for Brady. If I hadn’t given in to my feelings for him so quickly, I wouldn’t have lost sight of why we were together in the first place.
No matter how often we’d had sex, I wasn’t his real girlfriend. We started as a fake relationship and never discussed changing our original agreement. Brady hadn’t made any promises—except maybe in the heat of the moment—so it probably wasn’t fair for me to be so hurt by the reminder. But I couldn’t help how I felt, and I hadn’t been able to mask my reaction.
I did my best to bury the feelings as he brought me inside so we could speak privately, but it didn’t really work, judging by the way Brady was staring at me.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything about us fake dating in front of everyone like that. I’m fine now, though, really,” I insisted with a little sniffle.
“You’re far from fine, baby,” he disagreed, pressing a finger under my chin so I couldn’t look away. “And you abso-fucking-lutely should’ve said what you did. I needed to hear it to realize my colossal oversight in not laying it all out for you when I wasn’t balls deep inside your pussy.”
“I-I…what?” I stuttered, my cheeks heating.
His blue eyes burned with sincerity as he said, “I meant it each time I called you mine. I’m not going to try to hide behind some bullshit like it was the heat of the moment or anything like that. I knew what I was saying…and I made the conscious decision to take you bare over and over again, knowing damn well that you could get pregnant.”
It wasn’t as though I didn’t know the risks, but hearing him put it so bluntly shocked me, especially since it sounded like he wouldn’t have minded if I ended up carrying his baby. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Because I don’t want to make any assumptions here. Not when it comes to possibly building a family together someday.”
“Fuck someday,” he growled, his hand dropping to cover my belly. “If I had my way, you’d be pregnant already. It’s your dream, and I want to give you that. Not just for you, but for me too. I’ve pictured your belly round with my baby more than once. I can all too easily see our children—and eventually grandchildren—filling our house as we grow old together.”
I went from shocked to downright stunned. “Really? Don’t professional athletes get like…warned to be careful because of paternity suits?”
“It’s not as though I have to worry about that with you, do I?” He laughed softly and shook his head. “If you turn up pregnant, it’s one hundred percent going to be mine. I’m the only man who’s been inside you, and I plan for that to never change.”
I loved the sound of that but still warned, “Never is a long time.”
