Page 69 of Unrivaled

He chuckles as I hurriedly climb off him and topple into the hole in the middle of the couch. “Don’t hurt yourself,” he says, leaning over and placing a kiss on my shoulder before walking off.

I prop myself up to watch that tight, round ass walk away from me, enjoying the divots flexing on the side with each step. Damn, this man is fine.

Looking down, I notice the soft roundness of my belly, the faded stretch marks I can’t see in the low light, but I know are there. But Gray didn’t seem to notice or mind if he did. In fact, he seemed maybe even more enamored of my body now than he did when I was a skinny little cheerleader.

He’s back before I can finish the comparisons between then and now, settling back in his seat and hooking a hand around my ankle. “C’mere. The middle seat is the worst, which means your options are the other end of the couch or my lap. I vote for my lap.”

Smirking, I sit up and climb across him, sitting with my back to the arm and my legs across his lap like I was earlier.

He tips my chin up and places a soft kiss on my lips, humming contentedly. “This is nice,” he whispers when he ends the kiss.

“It is.”

“We should do it again.”

I laugh. “What? Now?”

“I mean …” He flexes his hips under me. “I’ll need a few minutes at least, but sure, I could go again tonight if you’re up for it. What I meant was another time, though. Another day.”

“You want to have sex while Ben is sleeping on another day?”

He grins that sinfully sexy grin. “Another sleepover? I’m good with that if you are. But also … you could just … come over by yourself sometime. I’d like to hear you uninhibited. At least once.”

For some reason that makes me blush, which only makes him chuckle. “You blushed like that for me the first time we were together.”

I cover my cheeks with my hands. “Oh god. I so did. I’d never had a party hookup like that before. I mean, sure, Carter and I had sex at parties, but we were a couple, so it wasn’t the same thing. Even with Carter, I was always embarrassed after, because everyone knew what we’d been doing. I think he liked that, though. That I was embarrassed.”

When I glance at Gray, he’s frowning. “Seriously? He got off on embarrassing you? That’s messed up.”

Dropping my hands, I lay my head against his shoulder. “Yeah. It is, now that you mention it. I’d actually forgotten about that.” I wave a hand. “Anyway. That’s ancient history. I haven’t seen Carter since around New Year’s senior year. That was when we had him do the DNA test. I knew I was pregnant, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t his, but we tested just to be safe. Which left you, of course.”

His muscles all jump to attention under me, and when I look up at his face, the muscle in his jaw bulges rhythmically. He lets out a heavy sigh, his hand curling around my thigh and pulling me close. “I’m sorry, Tiff. I wish I’d seen your messages or that my coach hadn’t decided he knew better than me what was best. I wish I could’ve been here for you all along.”

I lay a finger over his lips. “I know,” I whisper. “I believe you.”

He sighs, gripping my hand in his and kissing my fingers, then pulling my hand away and kissing me. “I wondered,” he confesses after a moment. “If you actually believed me or not. I can’t exactly prove my side of the story.”

Taking in a deep breath, I hold it for a moment and consider his statement. “I didn’t, really. Not at first.” I shake my head slowly. “Like you said, it’s easy for you to tell me that, especially if it gets you what you want now. But then, why would you change your mind all of a sudden? If anything, I’d think you’d be even less likely to change your mind now, on the verge of the draft, expecting to sign a huge deal with a pro football team. Why add the complication of taking responsibility for a preschooler on top of that? And obligate yourself to give up some of the big payday you have coming?”

Shrugging, I cuddle into his chest. “It doesn’t make sense. You not knowing before is the only explanation that really does. It took a while, though, for me to come to that conclusion. I hated you for years. Letting go of that wasn’t easy.”

He squeezes me, dropping a kiss on the top of my head. “I’m glad you did.”

“Me too.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Gray

Eventually Tiffany climbs off my lap and, much to my dismay, gets dressed. She gives me one last lingering kiss before heading to my bedroom to sleep with Ben. Part of me wants to join them, but I don’t. She doesn’t want Ben to know about us yet, and given everything that’s happened the last few years, I can’t say I blame her, even if I don’t particularly like it.

So I pull my own clothes back on and do my best to get comfortable on the couch. Maybe I should just let my mom pick out a better couch for me, especially if I’m going to have Ben and Tiffany over on a regular basis. Too much shitty sleep on a crappy couch will negatively affect my game, too. So it’s for my career that I want a new couch.

Right. Exactly. Perfect justification.

The fact that it’d be more comfortable for sex is just a nice bonus. And I definitely won’t be mentioning that part to my mom.

I drift to sleep with the memory of Tiffany pressed against me and wake up with a raging hard-on. It’s too early for Tiffany and Ben to be awake, though. It’s earlier than I prefer to wake up too, especially on the weekend. But between the sunken cushion and my aching dick, there’s no way I’m going back to sleep.

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