“Are you—” Dax began.
“More please,” I said in a steely voice. He took my glass and got up to pour me another.
When he returned, he held the glass just out of reach, searching my face for something I knew wasn’t there. He sighed, and then leaned forward, placing the glass in my hand. I nodded and raised the cut crystal tumbler to my lips and drank half of what he’d poured in it.
“Payton, I’m not sure getting drunk is the answer,” he warned.
“Don’t be a buzz-kill, Connor,” I said, looking into the bottom of my glass for answers that were never there.
“Then tell me what you want,” he said sitting down next to me with his arm around the back of my side of the couch.
“Honestly?” I asked hopefully.
“No, lie. You know how much I love that,” he said, impatiently drumming his fingers on the couch.
“The truth is…” I began as I looked over at him and thought about how what I wanted most was so very far out of my reach. I held his gaze as I tipped the glass up and drank the last of the whiskey before leaning forward and letting the glass roll off my fingertips onto the thick carpet. Dax watched as the glass hit the floor and then looked back at me.
“The truth is what, lady?” he murmured as I rose up onto my knees and slowly untied the knot holding the robe together. Our eyes were locked as I pulled the robe open and exposed the fact that I’d taken off the bikini in the bathroom. Without breaking my gaze, Dax set his glass on the coffee table and leaned forward to lightly run his fingers down the length of my naked body before grabbing my waist and pulling me toward him. I lost my balance and fell forward, pushing him onto his back.
“The truth is…I need this,” I whispered softly into his lips before I kissed him hard and deep. Underneath me, I could feel him already responding as I gripped his shoulders and slowly gyrated my hips. He groaned as I pushed myself up into a sitting position as I straddled his hips. As I slid the robe off of my shoulders and down my arms, his fingers pinched my nipples, drawing a long, low moan from deep inside me.
I bent forward and pushing against his chest, I slid myself far enough down his body so that I could unzip his pants, freeing him from the confines of his clothing before I pulled myself back up and began grinding against him, feeling his hardness rubbing against my most sensitive spots.
“Jesus Christ, lady,” Dax groaned as I coated his shaft with my wetness as kissed and teased his lips.
“Mmmm, you feel incredible,” I whispered into his lips as I reached down and began to rub the tip of his shaft against my aching opening. I pushed down a little, sliding only the tip inside me and then gyrated my hips before pulling him out again. Dax’s groans took on a new urgency as I teased myself, and him.
“You like it?” I asked as I slid him just inside my tight, wet opening. He swallowed hard and nodded as I smiled, bent over, and kissed his lips, and then in one swift movement, slammed him all the way inside me.
“Oh fuck!” he cried as I began a slow, steady rhythm, moving my body up and down just the way I liked it. Dax let go of my breasts and grabbed a hold of my hips as I increased the tempo. Soon he was thrusting his hips up to meet me as I moved my body faster and faster, chasing the sensation I’d been dreaming of since the first night he touched me.
“Right there, right there!” I cried as he found my sweet spot and rubbed against it over and over. I moaned as I felt myself hanging on the edge of climax, and then in an instant, I felt it all come crashing down as the waves of my orgasm washed over me and took me far, far away. Dax wasn’t far behind, and as I continued moving my hips as I pulsed around his throbbing shaft, I felt him release and join me out on the sea of our shared pleasure.
I collapsed on top of him, panting and feeling like my heart would beat out of my chest. Dax wrapped his arms around me and slowly stroked my back. Neither one of us said a word. We lay there for a long time, listening to each other breathe and feeling the warmth passing between our skin. I felt him slip out as we both basked in the glow of our first mutually satisfying sexual encounter.
“You okay?” Dax croaked, then cleared his throat and asked again, “You okay?”
“Oh, I’m good,” I whispered, running my fingers up his sides and realizing that he was still wearing his shirt. “You okay?”
“Mmm hmm,” he nodded. I tipped my head to look at his face at the exact moment he opened his eyes. “Never been better.”
I smiled as I lay my head back on his chest and basked in the warmth of his strong, warm body, and told myself that we had just begun.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dax
The next morning, I woke up with the sun streaming through the window and Payton curled up asleep next to me. Not wanting to wake her up, I lay in bed, watching her sleep as I thought about what this turn of events meant for us. I knew that I was walking a dangerous line between business and pleasure, and that Finn was going to be pissed at me. I wasn’t supposed to fall for Payton, and since admitting I had started to have feelings for her, even to myself, was difficult, I quickly shifted my thoughts back to the training camp and Nick’s objection to having Payton attend practices.
I was angry with Nick for thinking he had that kind of power to dictate what I could and couldn’t do, and, as a result, was tempted to bring Payton back and put her on the sidelines for the rest of the camp just to show him who was in charge. But the businessman in me knew that making a scene over Nick’s objections would only ultimately hurt the team. I knew what I should do, but my pride told me that to walk away would send the wrong signal.
I sighed and shifted my position as I wished, for the hundredth time that week, that Pop was still alive so I could talk to him. He’d always listened to me carefully and then summed up his perspective in a few words. Pop’s advice had always helped me identify the problem and the solution, but he’d never once told me what to do.
Payton stirred in her sleep, moving away from me toward the other side of the bed. Her blonde hair spilled across her pretty face, and I was tempted to reach out and brush it away, but I didn’t want to wake her. I thought about what she’d told me about her mother and her family, and wondered what the rest of the story was. What she’d told me about her mother’s accident didn’t sound anywhere near murder to me, but then I knew better than anyone how the young mind creates stories in the absence of cold, hard facts. I didn’t want to downplay Payton’s pain, but it sounded like a family problem that had escalated over years of failed communication.
“Armchair shrink,” I chortled as I slid out from under the sheet, walked out into the living room, and pulled on the robe that Payton had discarded the night before. I called down to the kitchen and ordered a full breakfast be sent up for both of us before grabbing the paper that had been left out in the hall. I opened it up and swore loudly as I read the front-page headline.
Moments later, Payton came rushing out of the bedroom wrapped in the top sheet off the bed. Her eyes were still adjusting to the light as she pushed her w