Fake The Game (Vancouver Tridents Book 2)

“What’s going on, Specs?” Maverick growls and raises his hands to hold onto the door frame as he sears me with his gaze. “I thought I told you to be naked.”

I let the vibrator fall from my hand, not missing the way his eyes track it, growing even darker with lust. I rise up on my knees
and make my way to the end of the bed before giving him a smirk.

“You did. But I thought you might like this instead.” I spin around, tossing my hair over one shoulder, revealing my back with his name on full display.

“Fucking hell,” he croaks. Then hands land on my hips, gathering up the bottom hem of his jersey and lifting it. “And you’re naked underneath?”

“Not quite,” I whisper, turning my head to look at him. “But I took my panties off.”

“Couldn’t wait?”

I give my head a tiny shake, and he leans down to catch my earlobe between his teeth. “You’re the sexiest thing in the entire fucking world, you know that?”

He backs away, and a whimper escapes me.

I nod. “Yeah. I know you want me to think before I act, but Specs, there was no fucking way I was gonna let the opportunity pass to tell him what I think, and just fuck with him. It was…” I kiss my fingers. “Perfection.”

Sadie throws her head back, her laughter ringing free. “I wish I had been there to see that.”

“You would’ve loved it. The guys all joined in. It was a thing of beauty, either way. Funniest shit I’ve seen in years. Although, I guess I should have thanked him. If he hadn’t been such a fucker, I wouldn’t have you.”

She pulls me in for a hug, nestling against my chest. “I love you, Maverick. Thank you for loving me back.”

“Always, Specs. Always.”

Standing in front of my locker, I stare at the snapshot of me and Sadie I taped up there last week. The guys gave me some grief, but it was good-natured. And honestly, I couldn’t care less. Getting to stare at her face whenever I’m here is worth the ribbing.

Except, I tend to get caught up in looking at her beautiful smile and tune out everything else.

“And this is mine.” With that, I open my mouth and lap up her seam, exerting enough pressure to have her arching off the bed, moaning my name.

Her thighs clamp around my head as I devour her, drinking down every drop of her arousal, finding every spot that makes her gasp, or sigh, or shriek. All too soon, she’s arching off the bed, her body curling over my head as she chants my name, her pussy gushing her release as I lick and suck through her orgasm.

When she falls back on the bed, a delicious blush covering her skin, I kiss the inside of each knee before slowly lowering her legs and standing up. My cock is so hard it hurts. I’m desperate to be inside of her, to feel that sense of home I can only get with her.

But first, I walk around to the side of the bed and open the drawer, tossing a strip of condoms onto the mattress beside her. Her head rolls to the side, and she giggles when she sees how many I pulled out. “You’re awfully ambitious.”

I give her a wicked grin. “Nah. I plan on keeping you up all night, Specs. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do on orgasms.
”

I push down my boxers, my dick springing free.

I gather her hair in my hand and tug gently, forcing her head to tip back. My other hand circles her throat, and I hold her right there, feeling her fingers dig into me as I lean down and kiss her softly.

“I love you.”

Her eyes are still closed as a dreamy smile covers her face. I can’t help but kiss her again, deeper this time, sucking her lower lip in between my teeth. Not losing contact with her mouth, I drop down into a crouch, and slowly peel her shirt off, trailing my fingers down her bare skin and around to her back where I unhook her bra. It falls off and she instantly arches toward me. I can’t resist the temptation, breaking away from our kiss to look down at her tits.

My hands cup them almost reverently, loving the way they overfill even my large hands. Her body is a fucking playground of soft curves, and it’s all mine.

I pull one of her nipples into my mouth, letting my teeth graze it gently, teasing it into a stiff peak. Then I move to the other, giving it equal attention. She’s squirming under me, her hands roaming my back, alternating between gripping tightly and stroking my skin. When I release her nipple with a pop, I bring one hand to the center of her chest and push gently.

“Lie back, Specs.
”

She does as I say, and I quickly tug her leggings and underwear down, finally revealing her glistening pussy. Trying to tighten her legs around me, her hips move on the bed. I trap her in place with my hands, waiting until her gaze meets mine.

I don’t have any friends except for the old guy who lives across the hall from me
and a cat. I hate being around people, don’t do small talk, and have never been in a relationship. There’s nothing about me that makes me worthy of a woman like you, and I hurt you in an attempt to keep you from realizing that.”

A lone tear spills from his eye, tracking slowly down his face, and I can’t hold back any longer. My hand lifts to cup his cheek, my thumb wiping away the moisture. I shift closer to him as he turns his cheek into my hand, his eyes closing as he draws in a ragged breath.

“You’re looking at everything all wrong,” I murmur, my heart aching for this man who can’t see how everything he thinks of as a flaw is actually a beautiful piece of what makes him so strong.

“Jesus. I had what I’d say all planned out. And now that I’m here, I can’t stop staring at you.”

My gaze bounces up from my lap to his face. Just as he said, his blue eyes are boring into me. It hurts to look at him and not be able to reach out and touch him as I have a thousand times over the last few weeks.

“Are you moving?” he asks the obvious question, finally breaking the silence again.

I nod. “Into Ali’s place for now. Being alone is…hard.”

His Adam’s apple bobs up and down as he swallows. “Yeah. It is.” Another second of silence, and then his head drops forward
to hang down, his elbows resting on his knees. “I have to start with saying I’m so fucking sorry. That’s not anywhere near enough, but it’s the only place to begin.”

And at some point, my tears become less about him, and more about me.

I guess Eli senses the shift and pulls back. “Hey. Mav. What’s goin’ on?”

“I fucked up.”

“Shit.”

I nod, swiping away the moisture on my cheeks.

“What did you do?” he asks cautiously.

“Pushed her away before she could leave me.” One simple sentence that somehow sums up all the ways I’m fucked-up inside. All the broken pieces of me, captured in just a few words.

“Do you know why you did it?”

Reluctantly, I nod. “Because good shit never lasts. So why drag it out if I know it’s gonna end soon anyway.”

Eli snorts, making my head whip up to glare at him. He holds his hands up in defense. “Look, I love you, and I know you can
beat my ass, but I’m gonna say it anyway. That’s the biggest pile of bullshit I’ve ever heard.”

“Fuck you,” I start angrily, but he gives his head a sharp shake to stop me.

“No, fuck you.

Rolling over in bed the next morning, my hand lands on the pillow next to me just as it has every morning since I last slept with Sadie. The smell of her shampoo has faded, but I can’t bring myself to wash it
.

When it became clear last night that Sadie hadn’t betrayed my trust, hadn’t told anyone anything about what really went down between us, something cracked inside of me.

“I’m here. I’m trying to be here for you.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t. You can’t fix things for everybody else, Sadie. Go and fix your own shit instead. Why are you spending your life always trying to make everyone else happy and never yourself? Jesus. Focus on that and not my brother. Not my life.”

“Wow,” she says bitterly. “That’s harsh. Even for you.” Her arms are wrapped around her stomach now. “You know what, I’m going to go. You need to figure out what you’re really mad about. Because it isn’t about me talking to Eli, is it?” She shakes her head. “I thought we were past this and you weren’t that guy anymore, the one who reacts first and thinks last. Guess I was wrong.”