Page 55 of Catch Me

Reid makes me sit and then drops to his knees in front of me. “I’d never do anything to take this away,” he says. “I’m telling you I’m ready to be back out there. I know it.”

I shake my head. “But what if you’re not?”

“I am,” he says. His green eyes lock with mine. We hold one another’s gaze for a long time. I can tell he truly believes he’s fine. I can tell he truly feels it right down to the marrow of his bones, and I want to believe him, too. I want to believe it the same way, but the doctor… He wouldn’t have just lied. Reid runs a frustrated hand through his hair. “You’re missing something in all this, Briar. If I’m the only one who knows I faked that doctor’s note about coming back to play, how does Oscar suspect anything? How does he know something’s up unless he was certain I wasn’t coming back?”

I blink. I’m seriously grateful I didn’t drink tonight because my brain probably wouldn’t have been able to make the connection. “Sasha.”

Reid slowly nods.

“But how? She can’t control your doctor. That’s crazy.”

Reid shakes his head. “I thought the same thing, but Briar, it fits. It all fits.”

My stomach bottoms out as I realize he’s right. I don’t know how she did it, but she did do it. She not only took Reid out, but she kept him out. Otherwise, how would Oscar know to question his return to playing story?

“Do you think Coach will look into it?”

Reid shakes his head. “No, only because he’d rather have me playing than not.”

“And you didn’t tell the guys?”

Reid’s gaze shifts to the floor. His shoulders deflate like he’d been carrying this around with him. “No, I didn’t tell them. I was afraid they wouldn’t let me do it.”

I slap his shoulder, anger seeping back in. “Well, they probably wouldn’t have, jackass. Because we all care about you. You shouldn’t be taking risks like this.”

“Still care about me?” Reid asks, his green eyes slicing to mine. “Even though I kept this from you?”

“Well, of course. Even if I think what you did was brash and unreasonable. Not to mention hedonistic, cocky, and selfish, I—.”

Reid doesn’t let me get the rest of it out. He leans over and kisses me, stopping my tirade abruptly. I’m upset he would take his health into his own hands by forging a doctor’s signature, but I can’t seem to think about that at the moment. His kisses are fierce and strong. He moves me onto my back before following after me, his knees moving to either side of my hips. His tongue dives into my mouth like a man starved, and I open for him, giving him everything I have to give.

He takes my arms and pins them above my head. My skin glides across velvety rose petals until he holds me there. His free hand slips under my shirt before he takes a handful of my breast for his own. “You’re wearing too many clothes.” He pulls at the hem of my shirt until it slips past my arms and disappears somewhere to the side of us.

He presses his lower half into mine, and I moan when I feel his hard length press right where I need it. I’m only wearing thin leggings, so the barrier is nothing. I work on his jeans, unbuttoning the clasp and pulling the zipper down before he has to help me slip them over his legs. When he settles back on top of me, I move my hips into his, asking for it. Hell, practically begging for it.

Reaching around my back, Reid unclasps my bra and gently pulls the straps down my shoulders, revealing the swell of my breasts little-by-little as if he wants to tease himself. He’s definitely teasing me. The fabric slips over my erect nipple, and when he finally does pull it away fully, he puts his hot mouth on my waiting skin, making me buck off the bed and into his hard body. He slips his hands under my ass as he continues to lavish my breasts, first one then the other. When his hands reach the hem of my leggings, he pulls down, taking my panties with him until he’s peeling off the fabric down my knees and past my ankles.

He stares at me for a moment, leaning back. His breath hits the wet area of my breasts from his kisses, sending a spark through me. “Now look who’s wearing too many clothes,” I say.

He yanks his shirt off, throwing it to the side until he’s leaning over me, bulging out of his boxer briefs. I wrap my leg around his ass and pull him down until he’s nestled at my entrance. He groans, arching into me. “I would never risk this, Briar. I swear,” he says again, echoing what he said to me a few minutes ago. I know he’s right. I know he wouldn’t willingly do anything like that. “I want you to come to Warner’s with me,” he says, lifting his hips into mine.

I move my knees to the mattress, giving him access. His green eyes are molten. The self-confident Reid is back. He’s sure again. Confident that all his dreams are going to come true. He’s going to win the All-State Scholarship. He’s going to Warner’s. And I’m going to be there with him.

“Start a life with me,” he says.

My breath catches. He stares into my eyes as he moves his boxer briefs down, releasing his dick from the confinement of his clothes. There are questions in his eyes, but when I lift my hips to his, telling him it’s alright, he swallows. No condom this time. I feel him at my entrance first, then the slow, agonizing torture as he pushes inside me. I pull in a shaky breath, relishing the skin-on-skin contact. It’s too perfect.

When he’s fully inside, he rests his forehead on mine and continues to move inside me. My hips move up to meet his time and time again as we slowly pleasure each other like the greatest tease. He keeps his gaze locked on mine. It’s as if he’s trying to tell me that this is about me and him. It’s not just about the act of sex. It’s about having it with me and only me.

My body breaks out in goosebumps. “I love you,” I say.

He closes his eyes briefly, then opens them again. “I love you.” He moves onto his hands, using the angle of his body to slide deeper inside me, this time with a little more force. The bed moves, and I grip his hips, sliding my hands over his taut muscles. Soon, he starts to shake. Seeing him start to lose it makes the heat in my core ramp up. The pressure inside me builds. I move against him more fervently, and he does the same until he’s rocking the bed in time with his thrusts inside me. “Fuck, Briar. Yes.”

He grinds down onto me, and my body plunges into an orgasm. I call out his name, clinging to his hips as he rides my orgasm out and right into his own. His thrusts slow, like he’s trying to make it last, but eventually, he drops to his elbows again, kissing me solidly on the mouth. He moves to his side and holds me to him, running his hands through my hair gently until I fall asleep.

He better be right about his health because I cannot lose this.

24

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