Merit (Treasure State Wildcats Book 4)
Merit: Chapter 20

Coach Greely was cutting his lawn when I pulled into Stevie’s driveway. He shut off the mower as I climbed out of my truck, spinning his hat backward as he walked over. “Hey, Maverick.”

“Coach. How’s it going?”

“Not bad. Just doing a little yard work today. Then Jennsyn wants to go to Adair later to buy flowers before my annual Fourth of July party.”

“Stevie’s influence, no doubt.”

“I think you’re right,” he said, glancing to the stoop.

It was crowded with hanging baskets and pots teeming with blooms. I’d come over every evening this past week, and usually, I’d replace Stevie outside, situating some new purchase she’d brought home from work.

“Got plans for the Fourth?” he asked.

It was still two weeks away, but Mission loved Independence Day. There were flags on the streetlamps downtown. Houses in every neighborhood had added touches of red, white and blue. And the fireworks show was unbeatable.

“Probably a barbeque at my parents’ place. My nephew loves fireworks. We usually set them off in the driveway.”

Since Bodhi had been a little boy, Dad and I had always planned a night of fun. It had become an ordeal, a challenge, to see who could replace the best stand in town. Doing it for Bodhi’s amusement had just been our excuse to light shit on fire.

This year, we were going all out, and I’d already spent a small fortune at four different stands. Dad had done the same. I wasn’t sure if we’d even get through them all at this point, but if it took all night, we’d try.

If Mom didn’t see another Fourth, we’d make this year’s the best.

Declan and Elle would probably come over. Stevie might too. Or maybe she’d stay here and spend the night with her friends. And I could come over when all of the festivities were done.

I’d spent every night at her place this week. Every night worshipping her body. It had been the best week I’d had in a long, long time.

“I’ll let you get back to mowing,” I told Coach. “Good luck flower shopping.”

“I have a feeling I’ll need it.” He chuckled, waving as he retreated to the mower.

I started for the house but paused. Since Coach Greely was the defensive coordinator and I played on special teams, I didn’t spend much time with him on or off the field. But I knew him well enough to know that he’d played at Treasure State in college, then moved into coaching. Rush looked to Coach Ellis as a mentor. He’d gone from the Wildcats to professional football. But I saw myself more like Coach Greely.

And maybe, his career path could be mine.

“Coach?” I called before he could start the mower’s engine.

“Yeah?”

“Would it be okay if I stopped by your office Monday and talked to you a bit about coaching? About how you got into it?”

“Of course.” Greely nodded. “Door’s always open.”

“Thanks.” I waved goodbye, and as I stepped past Stevie’s flowers, the buzz of his mower filled the air.

After Stevie had asked me about becoming a coach, I hadn’t been able to get the idea out of my mind. I only had one more year of football left, then I’d be done and graduate. I’d be like Stevie, joining rec leagues and teams to play on for fun.

But that didn’t seem like enough. I wasn’t sure if I could deal with two big losses within the next year.

What if I didn’t say goodbye to football? What if I coached? What if I didn’t replace some boring office job and instead built a career around something I loved?

Mom would like that. So would I.

Monday. I’d talk to Coach on Monday. Get Mom’s take on it too.

After a quick knock on the door, I stepped inside, calling out, “Hey.”

“I’m in the kitchen,” Stevie hollered.

I kicked off my shoes and made my way past the empty living room. “No Liz or Jennsyn?”

“Nope. Just me. Liz is still at her boyfriend’s house. Jennsyn came over after you left for the gym and we made a list of flowers she wants to buy for Toren’s, but she just left to get a car wash.”

“Ah.” Every night this week, the house had been ours alone. Her roommates spent every night with their boyfriends, which was fine by me. It was nice to have Stevie’s place to ourselves. To not worry about how loud we’d get in her bedroom.

I leaned against the counter, watching as Stevie took a large metal mixing bowl out from a cupboard and set it beside a stack of ingredients on the counter. Flour and sugar and a yellow bag of chocolate chips.

Hell yes. “Making me cookies, Nadine?”

A pretty smile stretched across her mouth. “These are for me.”

“You’re not sharing? Rude.”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged, leaning her elbows on the counter. “Have you earned cookies?”

Flirting with her was the most fun I’d had in ages. “We both know the answer to that question.”

Three orgasms last night meant I definitely got cookies. Plus my morning workout meant I was starved. But food could wait.

I’d gotten up early to meet Rush this morning, and while I’d been gone, she’d dressed in a pair of loose gray shorts and a matching tank. No bra. Her nipples were beginning to peak beneath the fabric, like they wanted my mouth.

I preferred her in nothing at all, but I liked this too. Relaxed and happy. Smiling for me and only me.

“I like this top.” I tugged at the fabric, using it to pull her close.

“Yeah?” She lifted up on her toes, her mouth reaching for mine, but just before we touched, I breezed past her, walking to the oven to shut it off.

“Tease,” she muttered.

Damn straight. Teasing her ranked right up there with flirting.

“If you want cookies, you’d better turn that oven back on.”

I crossed the kitchen, taking the hem of my T-shirt in my hands and whipping it over my head. Then I threw it in her face, earning a laugh as I picked her up and set her on the counter, standing between her legs.

She tossed my shirt to the floor and settled her hands on my shoulders. Then she moved in for a kiss, but I shied away.

“Close your eyes. Don’t open them.”

She pouted. “You’re not going to kiss me?”

“Not yet.”

Stevie huffed but obeyed, dropping her hands to her lap.

Trailing my fingers up her bare arms, I circled them around her elbows, then up to her shoulders, tracing the skinny straps of the tank down to the swell of her breasts. Her breath hitched as I moved lower, replaceing her perfect nipples with my thumbs.

The moment I touched them, she arched into my touch, letting out a sexy moan.

Every day with Stevie felt like an adventure. A new exploration. I’d had years of meaningless sex, years of getting off and getting out. This wasn’t just new for her. It was new for us both.

I wanted nothing more than to make her come apart. To make each orgasm an experience. So far, I’d kept it tame, not wanting to press too far, test too many boundaries.

It was time to play.

I bent to her mouth, dragging my lips across her cheeks and chin and nose. Every time she leaned in, I pulled back, denying her a kiss, all while I continued to pluck and pinch and roll her nipples.

She started to squirm on the counter, inching closer to the edge, her legs wrapping around my hips to draw me closer. Seeking some friction against her pussy.

“Would you come if I kept this up?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

I pulled her shirt beneath her breast, exposing it to the air before I dropped to suck her nipple into my mouth.

“Yes.” Her hands dove into my hair. As much as I loved her hair, she played with mine just as much if not more, weaving it between her knuckles, combing it through those delicate fingers.

I gave her nipple another suck, then let it pop from my mouth before righting her shirt.

A disappointed whimper came from her throat, but she kept her eyes closed.

“We’re going to fuck. Hard. Then I’ll kiss you. And then you can make me cookies.”

Her eyes popped open, shock and desire making those hazel irises spark.

“You like that idea, don’t you?”

She chewed on her bottom lip as she nodded.

“Good girl.” I hoisted her off the counter, lifting her high enough that she was draped over my shoulder.

“Mav.” She laughed, covering it with a hand as I smacked her ass and carried her to the bedroom. She caught the door, slamming it closed, right before I tossed her on the bed, her perfect body bouncing on the mattress.

I took her ankles, using them to spin her onto her belly.

She gasped, her hair covering her face until I looped an arm around her middle, hauling her to her knees as I stood behind her.

Her shirt was gone in a flash, exposing the long line of her spine. Then I shimmied down her shorts and panties, waiting as she shifted side to side for me to slide them down her knees and off her calves.

One look at her heart-shaped ass, the exquisite curve of her hips, and I was rock-hard, straining against my boxer briefs and gym shorts. With a quick push at the waistbands, I kicked them free of my legs. Then I moved Stevie’s hair aside, sealing my lips over the sensitive flesh below her ear.

I lifted her hands to her breasts, using her own fingers to play with her nipples as I stepped closer, letting my arousal press against her ass.

“Are you wet for me?” I kissed her shoulder, then pushed her forward to her hands and knees, taking in that slick pussy. “Fucking drenched.”

“No more teasing.” She leaned back, pressing against me as I lined up at her entrance and drove inside, burying myself to the root.

“Fuck.” I clenched my jaw, fighting for control so this lasted more than five seconds. Then I eased out before thrusting forward again. “So damn tight.”

She twisted enough to look back at me over her shoulder. Stevie moaned, her back arching as she bit her bottom lip. Her eyes were hooded, her cheeks flushed. Her hair tossed over a shoulder and her spine arched.

Sexy. Beautiful. Mine.

She looked like mine.

I reached for her jaw, using my thumb to pull that lip free from her teeth. Then I gripped her hips and did exactly as promised. I fucked her. Hard. We fucked until the sound of our skin slapping filled the room, mingling with our short breaths and groans. Until her breasts bounced, and when I thrust forward, she’d shift back, our bodies in exact rhythm until her inner walls began to clench.

I reached around her, sliding my finger to her clit and stroking it twice.

She cried out as she came, as she squeezed me like a vise, falling forward, letting the bedding muffle her lovely sounds.

I pounded into her, chasing my own release and that build at the base of my spine. When I came it was on a roar, my abs bunching as I kept driving my hips, pouring inside until I was spent.

“Fuck.” I kept a hold of her waist as I let the stars clear from my eyes and the dizzy wave pass. Then I closed my eyes and tilted my face to the ceiling.

Ruined. Stevie had ruined me. And I couldn’t replace it in me to care.

When I pulled out, my come leaked down her thigh.

I caught it with a finger and smeared it over her pussy and that pink puckered hole.

She shot up, hair and eyes wild. Shock mingled with excitement and lust on her expression. A hint of curiosity that made my cock twitch.

If she didn’t want to go there, I didn’t care. But if she was up to try, if she’d let me have her in every possible way, I’d make it the best fucking night of her life.

I took her chin, holding it as I slammed my mouth on hers for the kiss she’d craved and damn well earned. As our tongues tangled, she spun on her knees, her arms looping over my shoulders, holding tight as I laid her down, working the covers over our bodies.

There were hours and hours of the day remaining, but all I wanted to do was hide away in this bed.

“I’m spending the night.” Every night this week, I’d given her the choice if I stayed here or went home. Just in case she needed a night without me in her bed. Well, fuck that. I was staying. “I like your bed.”

She curled closer to my side, looping a leg over mine. “Then I guess you’d better stay.”

“I am.”

“You can.”

“I don’t need your permission.”

“Well, you have it.”

This woman. With a quick spin, I rolled her to her back, pinning her beneath me. “Do you always have to have the last word?”

She giggled. “Yes.”

I did my best to glare but she lifted a hand between us and flicked the tip of my nose.

“You like it,” she said.

Yeah, I kind of did.

Not that I’d ever admit it.

Or that I was falling for Stevie Adair. My Stevie.

She’d always been my Stevie.

“Do you think this is what it could have been like?” I asked as we curled together.

“What do you mean?”

“If you hadn’t hated me, and I hadn’t hated you. If we had been doing this from the beginning.”

She pressed a kiss to my throat. “No. Our parents wouldn’t have let us within ten feet of each other. If my dad had thought you might be interested, he would have come to every family dinner with a shotgun.”

“True.” I chuckled.

Except it still felt like wasted time.

And we were running out of time.

We were all barreling toward an end I couldn’t even fathom.

I shoved that thought aside and buried my face in Stevie’s hair, myself in her body. Because when I was lost in her, I didn’t have to think about anything else.