Hard Fall by Brenda Rothert

Chapter Sixteen

Hadley

My pulse pounded at the sound of the front door being closed, followed by the beeps of the home security system as Wes reset the alarm. He went to the kitchen, probably for a drink of water, and then I heard his feet on the stairs.

Soft thudding noises sounded on Benny’s baby monitor as Wes went into the room to check on him, and then I heard the same in Annalise’s room.

As he made his way into the master bedroom, I regretted my decision to wear nothing but a lacy red bra and panty set to bed. I was exposed, not just physically, but emotionally. If Wes was in a bad mood, which was likely after the way the team had played on the road trip and the tension he’d been dealing with between the players, I couldn’t pretend I’d been sleeping.

This lingerie sent a clear message—I wanted sex. And if he didn’t, I was going to feel rejected.

Wes walked into the bedroom and set his bags down, then walked over to the bed.

“Hey, you awake?” he whispered, sitting down on the edge of the bed and leaning close to get a look at my face.

I had the covers pulled up to my chin, so he wouldn’t be able to see the sex trap I’d tried to set for him just yet.

“Yeah, I’m up. You can turn on the light.”

He switched on the bedside lamp, and I could tell by his expression that he wasn’t in a good mood.

Fuck. Why had I waxed, shaved, moisturized and put on brand-new lingerie? It was possible I could turn his mood from bad to good, but knowing he was cranky made me feel vulnerable, and I didn’t like it.

Wes sighed heavily and said, “I need to be honest with you about something.”

Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit. He was about to tell me that he’d slept with another woman on his road trip. I felt it in my bones. And here I was in lingerie. I was mortified.

“Okay,” I said, steeling myself.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but…”

“Wes, it’s fine,” I said crisply. “You don’t owe me anything.”

He furrowed his brow. “I wanted to tell you that living in Ben and Lauren’s house is hard for me.”

Oh. That wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

“It is?”

He nodded, looking both weary and guilty. “I’m trying so fucking hard to hold the team together and deal with all the bad press we’re getting. I’m no Ben, though, and I never will be. I feel the weight of trying to take his place even though it’s impossible. And then I have to come cook on his grill, walk past his study every day…sleep in his bed. I loved Ben, but living here, raising his kids and taking over as captain…it’s making me feel like I’m trying to be Ben. And all I feel is inadequate. I miss my bed. I miss my goddamn couch. And I feel like an asshole for it.”

I sat up, the covers forgotten. “You are not an asshole. But what are you saying? Is this only about the house, or is it about the kids, too?”

“It’s the house. I love the kids. It was the right choice to move in here right after they died, and maybe the time isn’t right yet, but…”

“You want to sell the house,” I finished.

“Yeah. We’re using their dishes and bath towels, and…I think a new house might be the best thing for all of us. We can stay in the school district Ben and Lauren wanted the kids in, but buy something that’s ours instead of theirs.”

His gaze wandered to my breasts as I said, “You mean, you’d buy it? Because I’m in no position to pay for half.”

He waved a hand. “Money isn’t an issue for us. I’ve got plenty, and we’ll also have what we make from selling this house. But I wanted to ask you if you think it’s the right move for the kids.”

I considered the pros and cons, as well as the permanency of buying a house. “It’s hard to say. I think there are going to be things that are tough for all of us, no matter when we do them. But I hear you on how you feel about living here.”

“Does it feel that way for you at all?”

I shook my head. “It’s kind of the opposite for me. When I’m using Lauren’s hand mixer and writing things on her calendar, it reminds me of her. But I get you, Wes. It’s a little morbid that we live here with all their stuff. I’d much rather have my own office than work in Ben’s study forever.”

His gaze was back on my breasts. “You look fucking spectacular in that bra, babe.”

“Thanks.”

He reached up and brushed his thumb over the soft satin covering one of my nipples, sending a shiver from the tip of my spine to the base.

“We don’t need to do anything right away on the house,” he said. “But this boner you gave me by wearing that bra is fucking urgent.”

My body heated in response to his hungry look as he stood and stripped off his dress shirt and the plain T-shirt beneath it. I hadn’t just been angling for sex with Wes when he got home tonight, I’d been dying for it. It had taken more than an hour of bedtime stories to get Annalise to fall asleep in her bed tonight. I could now recite each word of the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book verbatim.

Worth it, I thought as Wes dropped his pants and boxer briefs, his erection jutting out in front of him. He truly had a flawless body, all long lines and defined muscles.

He pulled the covers away from my body and took in the lingerie in its entirety. He laughed softly, raking his gaze up and down my body.

“Damn, baby. Ready to spread those legs?”

I smiled. “I am if you got your STD results back. Mine came in and I’m clean as a whistle.”

“Yeah, I got mine, too—all good. I had the team doctor give me a note to prove it.”

Laughing, I said, “You don’t need to do that, Wes. I trust you.”

Since I was on the pill, this meant no more condoms for us. I’d never say it out loud, but god was I looking forward to Wes coming inside me.

As he stroked himself, Wes looked at me and said, “I’ve been fantasizing about you constantly, babe.”

“Really? Tell me more.”

“I think about the way you look and sound when you come.” He put a knee on the bed and moved closer, his hand sliding from my calf up to my thigh. “The way you look in a T-shirt that doesn’t cover your whole ass—I fucking love seeing those curved ass cheeks. And I’ve been imagining what you’d look like on your knees with my cock in your gorgeous mouth.”

The arousal swirling in my belly became mixed with worry and it must have shown on my face.

“What?” Wes asked.

“What?” I echoed.

“You just got a look on your face. If you don’t like giving oral, it’s okay. There are plenty of other things I like.”

I licked my lips, nervous as I tried to decide how to respond.

“It’s not that I don’t like it…it’s that I’m not good at it.”

Wes arched his brows. “Not good at it?”

“So I’ve been told.”

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. I’d been hoping he’d be balls deep in me by now, not asking for more details on my inadequate oral skills.

“Sounds like you’ve been with some whiny bitches, then,” he said.

“I mean, I have, but…”

“Come here,” he said, getting up from the bed.

I followed him, and when we were both standing, he put his hands on my waist and kissed me. It was soft and sensual, pulling me into the moment and taking me out of my head.

Pulling back slightly, he asked, “You want me to show you?”

“Show me? Are you going to suck a dick for me, Wes?”

He laughed and kissed me again. “Come here, smart-ass.”

When he took my hand and led me over to the chair, upholstered in a dark green velvet material, in the corner, I smiled.

“Are you planning on sitting there?” I asked.

“Yep.”

“I’m going to grab a towel. I helped Lauren pick out that chair and it took months. It was stupid expensive and I don’t want ass stains on it.”

“Jesus Christ, Hadley, my ass is clean.”

“Yeah, but when you sit and things spread out…just let me get a towel.”

He smiled and looked up at the ceiling, hands on his hips. “You better at least jog so I can see your tits and ass jiggling.”

I complied with his request and grabbed a bath towel from the linen closet in the bathroom, unfolding it and placing it over the chair. Wes sat down, a smile playing on his lips and his eyes dark with desire as he said, “Get on your knees.”

This was starting out hotter than my past oral experiences. Instead of forcing my head down to his crotch, Wes was telling me what he wanted, and it was surprisingly sexy.

When I was on my knees in front of him, he put a hand in my hair, his fingertips massaging my scalp.

“Play with me,” he said in a low tone. “Tease me.”

I hesitated a moment before leaning forward and licking the head of his cock, swirling my tongue around it gently. He groaned in response, his fingertips still rubbing my head.

“That’s good, babe. Keep your lips over your teeth and keep things wet. If you do that, it’s hard for anything to—oh, fuck yeah.”

I’d gotten him wet with my mouth and then run my hand up and down his shaft. I tried it again, using both my mouth and my hand. From the sound of his labored breathing, I could tell he liked it.

“A little slower,” he said in a coaxing tone. “Ah, that’s perfect. Keep doing that.”

It wasn’t so much his words, but his groans and the way his hand would tighten in my hair that told me when I was doing something he liked. And once I was able to take nearly all of him in my mouth, and I picked up the pace, he started thrusting his hips slightly and groaning louder.

“Don’t fucking stop…oh fuck…use your hand if you don’t want me to come in your mouth, babe.”

There was nothing I wanted more than for him to come in my mouth. He’d made me feel powerful and sexy, and I had a feeling I was enjoying this almost as much as he was. I continued, and soon I was rewarded with the taste of his release flooding my mouth.

He exhaled hard and his body went slack.

“Those other guys were fucking liars,” he said, grinning. “That was incredible.”

“You helped me make it good,” I said, still feeling a surge of pride.

“Nah. Everyone should tell their partner what they like. It’s what grown adults do. And I fucking loved that.”

He took my face in his hands and kissed me. Maybe he was right, and I just hadn’t been with a real man before. I’d definitely never been with anyone who made me feel like he did.

“Now lie down and get ready to take it like a good girl,” he said, standing up.

Holy shit. I considered myself a strong, independent woman, but when he commanded me in the bedroom, I always wanted to comply. It was nice to not have to be in control all the time.

He slid my panties down my legs and over my feet, tossing them on the floor before kissing his way up my thighs.

Good god, the man knew his way around a woman’s body. He licked and sucked and stroked until I was on the edge, but stopped short of letting me come. Instead, he parted my legs and pushed his way inside me, both of us groaning with pleasure.

I bucked my hips beneath him, my body desperate for the release it knew was coming. I’d been thinking about this moment every night he was on the road.

I came quickly, burying my face in his shoulder to muffle my moans so as not to wake the kids. He was right behind me, his face freezing in an expression of complete ecstasy as he held himself inside me while he came.

“Is it me, or does it just keep getting better?” he asked, exhaling hard and lying down on his side.

“No, you’re right.”

“Think about all the great sex you missed out on by turning me down all those years ago,” he said with a wink.

“But then I wouldn’t have had the benefit of your extensive experience,” I said, grinning.

“Uh-huh.” He said, a small smirk on his face. “Want to take a shower?”

“Sure.”

He got out of bed and went over to the chair in the corner, picking up the towel. “I’ll just use my filthy ass towel to save on laundry,” he said as he walked into the bathroom.

Practical and sexy. Wes was really starting to grow on me.