Page 79 of Elite Player
“Seemed like you got your clock cleaned yesterday.”
Nico sighs. “Thanks, Al.”
The Iron lost to Vegas by three goals. It was ugly.
“You’ll get them next time,” she says with a loving caress of Nico’s cheek and shoulder. “Now, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about Thanksgiving. I’m not going to be traveling back to Michigan this year, so how would you like to come over? The both of you?”
“Yeah, that sounds great,” Nico answers for the both of us.
Pleasantly surprised by her hospitality, I take a moment to recover, but when Nico squeezes my hand, I nod. “Yes, I would love that. Thank you.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to it.” She smiles. “I would stay and chat, but I’ve got to get going to my book club. I will see you later, Nico. Be good and take care of this young lady.”
She waves and continues down the stairs.
“She seems sweet,” I say as Nico opens the door to his apartment.
“Alma’s the best. Her husband passed a few years ago, and she’s never had kids, but I’ve been lucky enough to be semi-adopted by her.”
Gus meows as he weaves between our legs, and I bend to scratch behind his ears, as I mention what I know is a touchy subject. “You’ve told me more about Alma than you’ve told me about your own parents.”
Nico lifts Gus up when the cat paws at his leg, all but shutting down this conversation with a terse, “My dad died in his office of a massive heart attack, and my mom doesn’t have much to say unless she needs me for something, so…”
“I’m sorry.” I lean into him, rubbing his back.
He makes a nonchalant sound that clearly isn’t nonchalant. “It’s hard to miss something you never had, you know?” He shrugs. “I have Alex’s mom. Alma.” He presses a kiss to my hair. “And now you.”
I slant my head back. “You think of me as a mother figure?”
He lets Gus go to tunnel his fingers into my hair. “I think about your figure quite often, and nothing about those thoughts is maternal.”
I curl my hands around his wrists, pressing up onto my toes to accept his kiss, his tongue licking against mine. He tastes like the mint he snagged next to the register on the way out of the café.
From his place on the floor, Gus meows, annoyed, and Nico breaks our kiss to tell him, “Sorry, buddy. No cuddles for you right now.” He turns back to me, eyes darkening. “Got other plans.”
Then he guides me backward through the kitchen and down the hall to his bedroom. While I am no longer a virgin and have become well acquainted with Nico’s allure and influence, myheart still continues to beat erratically, knowing what we’re about to do.
Like my body remembers.
The touch of his fingertips.
The press of his mouth.
The pressure of his weight over me.
Within a minute, we are both naked and on the bed, all roaming hands and scraping teeth, and after a few days away with difficult games, I imagine he’s tired.
“Lie back,” I command, with more confidence than I feel, my hand on his shoulder. He doesn’t move at first, too busy kissing his way down my chest, but I stop him before he can hit his target. “Come on. I want to make you feel good.”
He flicks at my nipple with his tongue. “Feeling pretty good right now.”
I force him back with two hands, and he eventually gives in with a wicked curve of his mouth. “All right, you win. Do your worst, woman.”
I start at his throat, tasting the salt of his skin, then drag my tongue down the indentation between his pectorals and over to his flat nipples. He hums his appreciation when I kiss the bruise on his side, and he hooks his fingers into my hair to lift it up when I drift even lower, to where the head of his erection juts up.
I barely have my mouth around him when he sucks air through his teeth. “No, no, that’s not what we’re doing. Come here.”
Before I know it, he hauls me up and turns me around, straddling him. He grips my hips, scooting me back, settling a hand between my shoulder blades to push me down, putting me in the position he wants. “Yeah, this is better.”
