Power Play (Nashville Assassins Next Generation 2)

“I like it better when you wear a condom.”

I grin against her hair. “Considering this is only your second time, I feel you can’t make an executive decision yet.”

“Maybe,” she whispers against my neck. “But I like when you come inside me.”

“I do too,” I agree, nuzzling my nose in her hair. She runs her fingers along my back, and I close my eyes. “I can sleep like this.”

“It is pretty great.”

I roll over, bringing her with me, and gather her in close. “You weren’t planning on leaving, were you?”

She meets my gaze. “I thought that’s how it goes. We have sex, I go home.”

“No, not for us.”

“Oh?”

“I want you to stay with me.”

“Okay.”

I kiss the tip of her nose. “I gotta ask you something.”

“What’s that?”

“You haven’t had a thing for Asher or anything, have you?”

She opens her eyes, giving me a dull look. “Not at all.” She narrows her eyes. “Have you been thinking that since we left?”

“No. Just curious. I mean, if he’s anything like Aiden—”

“He’s not. He’s a huge dork who always would rather have played Barbies with us—mainly to make our dreamhouse more lifelike with real lights and shit—than hockey with the boys. We’ve never had feelings for each other. Like, ever. He’s like a brother.”

“Okay,” I say, but her eyes are still burning into mine. “Just asking.”

“Are you jealous?”

I swallow hard. I want to lie. I could lie, but I find that I can’t. “A little bit.”

She cups my jaw, stroking her finger along my lip. “You have nothing to worry about, Boon.”

I’ve heard that before. Even when Julia was fucking Phil, she told me that. Posey’s eyes, though, they make me feel like she is telling the truth. I feel like she only wants me. I only want her. I have to believe her because I refuse to lose her.

“I’m digging you. Always have.”

“Always have?”

“Oh yeah. I’ve always liked your play, and I’ve always thought you were sexy.”

“Well, I am,” I say against her jaw, grinning, and she snorts.

“Really, I’m not that kind of person. Doing things out of spite after my first time, though, that’s apparently a new characteristic I didn’t know I possessed.”

I laugh as I hold her close. “There are a lot of emotions that go along with that. That’s why we lose our virginity young, so that when we’re older, we don’t assume shitty shit.”

“Don’t people still assume shitty shit?”

“Oh, all the time, but I was trying to make you feel better.”

We cuddle deeper as we both laugh softly. Her lips glide along my jaw as she asks, “Did you lose yours early?”

“Fourteen.”

Her eyes widen. “I was still playing with Barbies.”

We share a smile as our lips move against each other. Not kissing, just teasing. “I was wild. My mom was always so busy, couldn’t really keep a close eye on me. I was banging the girl in the trailer beside mine. When her dad found out, he beat the living shit out of me. So my mom went and beat him.”

“Oh. Oh my.”

I nod. “Yeah, things calmed down when my coach took over.”

She draws in her brows. “Took over?”

“Yeah, I’d stay with him a lot after school, but my mom never missed dinner. Coach and his wife were really kind to us. We lost him about six years ago. I still talk to his wife regularly, though. She’s like a second mom.”

“That’s sweet.”

“Yeah,” I agree. But the pain is still there. When Coach Mike died, I didn’t see myself coming back from it. I never knew my dad, and then I lost the man who had stepped in for him, so it was rough.

But my mom always told me, “You learn to live with the pain of loss,” and I have.

“I’m sorry to bring up Asher, Posey. I was in my head. I don’t want to lose this.”

“I know. But remember, we’re gonna communicate.” She runs her thumb along my jaw, and I can see that she wants to lighten this moment. “I’m going to communicate that I want to do what we just did again.”

I smirk at her. “That’s a given. That’s why you’re not leaving.”

“Oh, I thought it was because you wanted someone to cuddle with.”

“Well, duh. But mostly because I love your sweet thighs,” I say, and she laughs.

“Whatever. They’re dimply.”

“Those are holders for my fingertips. I need them for how hard I plan on going.”

Her cheeks fill with color. “Promise?”

“Easiest promise I could ever make,” I say with a nod, my nose sliding along hers. My heart is beating furiously in my chest, and I want nothing more than to never move from this spot. I haven’t ever wanted anyone as much as I want Posey. That won’t scare me either. It can’t, not when she is grinning at me the way she is. Not when her fingers are gliding along my back the way they are. Not when her eyes are telling me she wants only me. It’s a pretty unbelievable feeling.