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Cane pulled Alex against his chest. He loved this part. Who knew? But he loved to just hold her. If he had any self-control at all he would spend an entire night just holding her against him. She fit. They fit together.
Alex pulled back. Her eyes were hooded with satisfaction. “We’re wasting daylight, Corn Fed. So, unless you want an instant replay, we need to get up.”
Cane glanced down at his watch. “Almost Alex, you almost had it. Three minutes and forty seconds. You were on the ten-yard line and you fumbled. Hard.”
“What? That was five minutes. I counted down. I demand a booth review.”
Cane tapped his watch. “It’s the official time piece of the NFL, the clock ain’t lying. You choked, sweetheart.”
“Nope. I am still laying down. The ball is still in play.”
Cane laughed. “The balls are definitely not currently in play.”
“Ha!” Alex swatted his chest. “I’m serious, all this still counts. Clock is still ticking.”
Cane kissed her temple. “Nope. This is not a cuddle anymore. The moment you opened your mouth it became a post-coital discussion which is nothing like a cuddle. So...you lost.”
“No. I am still in the cuddle position. And you can’t be the referee and the opposing team.”
“I like to think we’re on the same team and I’m the MVP.”
“No buddy, your award would be rookie of the year.” Alex laughed “Next time,” she tapped her finger into his chest, “we are going for seven minutes. Seven, Corn Fed. I am going to bring you to your knees with my cuddling. Watch me win with a safety.”
“I look forward to a rematch.” Cane stood up and put on his pants. He would rather stay in bed with her but they did have other things to do, like eat. He was starving. He handed Alex the travel bag he had packed for her. “Shopping for a woman is hard. She’s that big,” Cane demonstrated with his hands, “is not a size. So, I had to guess. The sales woman at Nordstrom was helpful. She told me not to forget makeup if it is an on-air interview. I told her you’re gorgeous and didn’t need makeup but she assured me that you would not thank me if I let you go on camera without foundation. What the hell is foundation? You’re doing an interview not building a house. Anyway, Stacey at the Clinique counter picked all the colors. I just showed her your picture on my phone and gave her my credit card.”
Alex sat up. Her hair fell over her shoulders, and onto her nipples. “You bought me clothes and makeup?”
“The other option was breaking into your apartment and getting your stuff for our first away game together. The shopping seemed like the less creepy option. Good call?”
Alex shook her head and laughed. “No! Bad call. Very bad call.”
“So next time break into your apartment?”
“Next time don’t kiss a beauty queen.”
“Sweetheart, I’m not kissing anyone but you. Now get up. We are going for a ride.”
Alex grimaced and then quickly covered for it with a tight smile. She was scared of horses but it was obvious, she would never admit it. During the season, Cane lived in Houston or in hotels around the country but whenever he got a chance he came home. He was even considering building a house here. Horses came with the territory. It wasn’t a deal breaker if Alex didn’t go riding with him, but he wanted her to. He wanted to do everything with her.
Alex opened the bag and examined the clothes and makeup. “Wait, hold up. You have a picture of me.”
“Duh, on my phone. You’re my girlfriend. You also have your own ringtone because that’s a thing. Read that, too.”
Alex laughed. ‘Seriously, Corn Fed, stop pretending you can read. We both know I am not in this for your brains.”
“By the way, I have never actually heard the ringtone because you never call me.” Cane leaned over and kissed her. “Come on, time to get back in the saddle. One bad experience should not ruin a good thing. And this is a good thing.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed. She bit into her lip as she glanced down at the worn wooden floorboards like she was debating what to say. A small furrow formed between her brows. “Do you mean...are you talking about...are you being allegorical?” she asked. Her eyes met his briefly then cut to the floor.
“Allegorical. Nice. You are using the thesaurus I got you. But no, no allegory. I mean literally you need to get back on the horse.”
Alex’s shoulders slumped. She studied the floor again like the grooves were the most interesting things she had ever seen. She wasn’t talking about horses. This was something else.
“What did you think I meant?”
“Nothing...and there are seventeen words that you highlighted, by the way.” She tapped his chest.
“Such a great number.” A grin crossed his face. “How long did it take you to find them?”
Alex laughed. “I didn’t have to find them. I knew it would be your number.”
“That’s what I said. It is a good number.”
Alex was lying about allegory. Clearly, she was talking about something else. But he knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t say anything, even if he challenged her. Whatever she was thinking about she had shut down hard.
She plastered a tight smile on her face. “Let’s do this. This place is too small for your ego.” She pulled on a new shirt over her bra.
“If you really don’t want to do this, we don’t have to. Your dad told me you were bucked off at a birthday party when you were a kid.”
Alex brushed past him. “He told you that when you were at lunch? How exactly does that even come up? How long were you out?”
Cane shrugged. “A couple of hours.” He picked up the bag he had packed and led them around the back to the small barn where Buckles and Frankie were waiting. Buckles was the gentlest creature on the planet, mostly because she was so lazy. There was no way she would have the effort to buck anyone off.
“Seriously. You talked to my dad for a couple of hours? What did you have to talk about? My dad is not chatty. He is the strong silent type.”
“Football mostly, and you. Ready?” Cane laced his fingers together to make a step.
Alex’s eyes focused in determination. She was scared but she wasn’t about to show it. God, he liked that about her. She just got on with things. He had no doubt she could handle just about anything life threw at her.
Alex sucked in a sharp breath as Cane helped her into the saddle then handed her the reigns.
“You, okay?”
Alex nodded. Her face was turning red. “You need to breathe.”
She nodded again. “I’ve totally got this.”
Cane smiled. She didn’t but he loved that she would pretend. He swung into the saddle. “Pull this side to go left, this side to go right. Pull back to stop. But she won’t need to do much of that. Buckles stops a lot on her own. Just go with it.”
Alex followed him out of the barn. The path down the mountain was too narrow to ride side by side so he let Alex go first so he could watch her and make sure she was doing okay. He wished he could see her face but her shoulders told him enough, they were hitched high, close to her ears.
“You got this,” he reminded her.
“Yep, I got this,” she said, her voice only slightly shaking.
It took almost an hour to make their way down the mountain and into a clearing in the woods. They could have made it safely in ten minutes but Cane didn’t want to push it. As they worked their way down the winding path, Alex’s shoulders lowered and she settled into the saddle.
He didn’t try speaking to her on the way down. She was using all her concentration to stay in place. She hadn’t yet realized they would make it to the bottom no matter what she did. Once they were in the field, Cane rode up beside Alex. Her face was red but she was smiling. “So?” Cane asked as he helped her down off the horse.
“Not horrible but not something I want to do again soon.”
“Well, we do need to get back.”
“Nope, I’m good.”
Cane led the horses down to the pond. It was a hot day for September, even by Texas standards. He let them drink and then tethered them to a tree. Alex stood at the edge of the pond, staring longingly out over the water.
“Want to swim?”
The corners of her mouth pulled up. “Yes, but I didn’t bring a suit because, right now, I should be at my desk looking at your Twitter feed and pretending to work.”
Cane stripped off his shirt. “No need to cyber stalk me today, sweetheart.”
“Why are you taking your clothes off?”
“Cause we’re going swimming.”
Alex shook her head. “No suit. No swim. I play by the rules.”
"I'm the quarterback I make the calls. We're swimming.”
Alex shook her head.
“I have seen more of your body than your gynecologist. Let’s not pretend to be shy, Alex.”
“I’m not being shy.”
“But you want to go swimming?” Cane’s eyebrows raised.
Alex shrugged and nodded her head.
“Well, there is only one thing to be done about that.” Cane wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. He threw her in the water and then jumped in after. Other than his shirt, they were both fully clothed.
“Cane Clayburn!” Alex screeched when her head broke through the water. Her hair dripped. “Why did you do that? I told you I didn’t want to go in.”
Cane tread water beside her. “No, sweetheart you said you wanted to swim but couldn’t because of some bullshit excuse. You wanted something but you wouldn’t let yourself go for it. I was giving you some allegory, baby. You got to jump in with both feet.”
Alex smiled broadly. “I already thought you were the sexiest guy I have ever met and then you used a four-syllable word correctly. You’re making me swoon hard, Corn Fed.”
“Big words, huh? That is your thing. I could have sworn it was big cocks.”
Alex swam to him. “Ooh I like those, too.”
“Good thing I have both.”
“Yep, good thing.”
Alex swam to the side. Her clothes clung to her as she got out. “For future reference, if you want to get me naked, just ask.” Alex stripped off her shirt and laid it on a rock to dry. Her underwear and pants were next. “My shoes better dry.”
“I’ll buy you a new pair. I’m good for it.”
Alex laughed “I know. I wrote about your obscenely large contract. Bigger than the GDP of a small country.”
Cane stepped out of the pond and stripped the rest of his clothing off. “You got the research about my paycheck right. Good to see you have your priorities.” He laid his shoes and socks beside hers.
Alex laughed. “Let’s not pretend that I am using you for anything other than your body.”
“You’re welcome to my body, sweetheart.” His mouth hitched in a smile.
Cane laid out the blanket he had packed. They would just have to lay naked in the sun until their clothes dried, worse ways to spend an afternoon.
Alex joined him on the blanket. “I have gone over the reels a lot. What did I get wrong?”
Cane shook his head. “I’ve already given you my body, woman. You’re not getting my secrets, too.”
Determination settled on her soft features. “Oh, I’ll get your secrets, Corn Fed. Every single one.” Alex reached out and stroked him. Instantly his cock went hard in her hand. She tried to wrap her fingers around his girth but they wouldn’t stretch. She lowered her mouth until it hovered just above the head. “I’ll take an inch for every secret you tell me.”
“Sweetheart, I don’t have enough secrets to cover the whole thing.”
Alex didn’t respond, she was already sucking. Her mouth was hot around the tip. Her tongue swirled around the sensitive ridge. She knew what she was doing. Fuck did she know. Cane took in a sharp breath so he could concentrate. She licked and sucked while her hand massaged the spot just below his balls. The pressure added to the exquisite sensation. Yes, she definitely knew what she was doing. Oh, fuck yes! He would come in less than five minutes if he didn’t hold back. Her head lowered just a fraction, taking him deeper. Oh god...he laced his fingers through her wet hair.
Alex pulled back. “That was a teaser. If you want me to keep going, you know what you need to do.” She continued to stroke him to stoke the fire but not enough to get him off. Yep, she knew what she was doing.
“Ask nicely,” he replied hopefully.
“Nope.”
“Tell you you’re pretty?”
Alex moved her hand away. “Tell me what I got wrong and I will keep going. And I will bring my A game. Trust me, you’ll be giving me the MVP.”
Cane groaned. He had no doubt he would be. She was good. Just thinking about her mouth on him was enough to keep him hard for the foreseeable future. Now was not the time for discussions. He needed to come hard and them make her come harder. Maybe then they would talk about it, but probably not. It was not a discussion he wanted to have with her. “We’ll talk after,” he said, careful not to commit to disclosing anything.
“If you ever want any part of you in any part of me, we’ll talk now.”
Cane swallowed. She wasn’t going to let it go. “My nickname: Smiles, you got that wrong. You said it was because I always had a dumb goofy smile. That’s not it.” Cane didn’t bother asking her to keep going because the erection was gone. His body knew where the conversation was headed.
“Why do they call you smiles?”
And there it was, the question he had hoped to avoid. He wasn’t embarrassed but he hated when it became an issue, when people apologized or overcompensated. He took a deep breath. “I was born with a cleft palate. My smile was wider, so that is where the name came from. It stuck even after I had surgery to correct it.”
Alex’s eyes widened. A look of mortification darkened her face. “I’m sorry.”
There they were: those words. There was no need for anyone to be sorry. He had been born a little differently, there were some things that had to be fixed and they were. It had absolutely no impact on his daily life. It was part of his past, not anything he still had to deal with or focus on. The nickname was really the only thing that remained. Cane shifted. “Don’t worry about it.”
Alex shook her head. “No that was really irresponsible of me. Kids look up to you. I don’t want anyone thinking that it is something to be mocked. Not cool. I’m sorry for that. I should have done better research.”
Relief eased into him, not shifting, but it’s tight hold loosening. “So, you’re not sorry I had a cleft pallet? Just that you misreported it?” Cane asked tentatively, holding his breath while he waited for her answer.
“It’s hardly held you back, has it? You’re still the most gorgeous and arrogant man I have ever met. It’s all good. And plus think of all the other kids born with a cleft palate, you gave them another reason to admire you. Can your ego handle all of the adoration?” Alex laughed.
There was more he needed to tell her, the part that might apply to her sometime in the not-too-distant future. “My kids,” he purposefully did not say “our” because this was about him, what he brought to the genetic table, “will all have a five percent chance of being born with a cleft palate.”
Alex didn’t say anything. He could not read her. Her face was expressionless. Fuck had he scared her off? Damn it. “But if they do, it is pretty easy to fix.” He paused for a second. “Or abortion is an option. You can see on the ultrasound early enough.” There, he had said it, everything that needed to be said. His cards were on the table. Time for Alex to show hers. Based on the look on her face, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know her hand.
Alex recoiled. She held up both hands, anger and mortification radiated off of her. “No! What? Why would anyone abort their baby because of a cleft palate? If your baby has a problem, you get them help. You don’t abort them. No. Just no.”
Cane let go of the breath he was holding, all of the reservations he had about Alex left with that stream of air, replaced by something else. He wasn’t even sure what it was. “So, you wouldn’t have an abortion if you found out the baby had a cleft palate? A lot of people do, you would be given that option no questions asked.” He just wanted to make sure, before the new feeling he had for her was able to take root and grow. Unlike the horses, this was a deal breaker.
“No, of course not. Please don’t ask me that ever again. Never. I could never do that. I don’t care what anyone else does but if I make a choice to have a baby, I’m going to be all in.”
“Jumping in with both feet, are you?”
Alex nodded. “Yes, with a baby I would. If, and that is a big if, I decided to have a baby, I am going to fully commit. It stops being about you when there is a little person involved. You can’t be selfish. You need to think about them.” Her eyes went dark as she looked out across the water.
Cane put a hand on the small of her back. “You’re thinking about your mom, aren’t you?”
Alex bit into her lip and nodded. “I know it’s not her fault she got sick, depression is an illness. I know that. In my mind I do. But...I don’t know.”
“Tell me,” he coaxed.
“I wish she had been stronger. I...god...I’ve never told anyone this. I blame her. I do, for not being strong. I would have been stronger. I would have fought to get healthy for my baby.” Alex scrubbed at her face. “Or at least I hope I would. I don’t know. Maybe it’s not something you can fight. I don’t know. I am just talking crap. Ignore me. I promised you a blow job and you’re going to get one.”
She turned to him and smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. The conversation was too much emotion for her so she was going to try to shut it down. But Cane wouldn’t let her. Not yet.
“You would, Alex. You would fight it. I have no doubt you would fight and win. Even if you get postpartum depression, you would beat it. You won’t do what your mom did. Is that what you’re worried about?”
Alex picked up a blade of grass and rubbed it between her fingers. “I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t want to do that to a baby. I love my dad so much...but I needed a mom. She took that away from me.” There was a sliver of glass that covered her eyes. If she blinked, it would shatter against her lashes and let the emotion she held too closely inside to slide down her face.
Cane wrapped his arms around her. “I know. Everybody needs a mama, but it’s hardly holding you back.” He used the words she had. She was so fragile. Against all her tough independent energy, there was a little girl that felt abandoned. He wanted to hold her tight forever so she would never have that sadness in her eyes.
Alex nodded. She leaned forward and ran her finger over his top lip, tracing the contour. “I love your smile, by the way. Those are some kissable lips.” She pushed him down against the blanket and climbed on top to straddle him. She lowered her head and licked the path her fingers had just traced. “Your kids will be lucky to get such big lips,” she whispered against his mouth.
A bolt of desire shot through him. Cane wanted her, more than he ever had. He needed to be inside her. He reached between them and guided his cock to the entrance of her body then pulled her down hard until she had taken all of him. She surrounded him, hot and wet, accepting all of him.
Alex’s eyes widened, unprepared for the sudden invasion. Next time he would take her slow, make it last, make sure she was ready. This time he needed to be in her, to get lost in her. It went past desire, something more primal, more demanding. He needed her.
Cane forced himself to wait until she had time to adjust but when she shifted her hips, all resolve faded. Cane held her hips as he pumped into her. His pace was fast, his thrusts demanding, he needed to be closer, further, deeper.
Alex matched his speed, her hips moved against his in a perfect rhythm. She cried out his name when she came. Cane held her in place as he pumped into her, over and over until he climaxed.
Alex collapsed down on his chest. Her heart beat against his skin, racing. Cane ran his hand down her back. She kissed his chest above his heart. There was no need to check his watch. Alex cuddled him without protest. Something had changed between them—deepened. She had to have felt it too.
***
Cane asked if Alex wanted him to stay for the interview but she said absolutely not. He knew that would be her response. Alex was single minded and focused at the best of times but when she was working, she took it to another level. Nothing and nobody were going to be distracting her. He dropped her at Max’s house where the crew was already setting up for the interview.
Cane headed to the Night Latch to see his family. Cheyenne greeted him at the door, Garron toddled behind her.
“He’s walking.” Cane smiled at his nephew as he swept him up in his arms.
“He’s running. And I’m chasing.”
That sounded familiar. Cane was a bit too familiar with that dynamic, but hopefully the corner had been turned on that front. Garron had crumbs on his mouth, which he promptly wiped on Cane’s shoulder and laughed. “Graham crackers, buddy. Nice. Thanks for sharing.”
“When is your girlfriend coming? I am so excited to meet her.” Cheyenne stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. He had known Cheyenne his entire life and his brother Colt had loved her just as long.
Girlfriend. Cane hadn’t used that word with his family but it was pretty obvious. He had never brought a woman home, ever, not to Cut and Shoot, and certainly not to meet his family. And he had brought her to the cottage where Colt had brought Cheyenne and Case had brought Jamison. Yeah, it was pretty obvious.
“I think she will be here by four o’clock.”
“Perfect. That will give me time to get to know her before your mama gets here. I’m going to bottom line it for you. Your mama is not a fan. She read both articles. I will sit them at opposite ends of the table. It will be fine. I will put Jamison beside your mama. She loves him. He is a good buffer.” Her tone sounded less than convinced.
“Lots of articles have been written about me.” Cane shrugged. He focused his attention on Garron who was now pulling books out of a shelf.
“And I pity every one of those people, too.” Cheyenne took a book from the baby’s hands and placed it on a higher shelf. “It will be fine. But just in case, I’m not giving either of them knives.” Cheyenne flashed him her best Country Darlin smile.
***
Cane played with the baby while Cheyenne started dinner. Garron looked just like Colt, with his warm brown eyes, but the baby had sandy hair like Cane and Cord. Cheyenne wasn’t kidding when she said the kid liked to run. Cane was getting an extra workout in. Garron squealed when Cane swooped him up and tossed him in the air. This is what he wanted; a family of his own. His football career wouldn’t last forever. He had made enough to retire after he played out his contract. He loved it, though. He would play as long as he could.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. A message from Alex.
“Thank you for the interview. Please apologize to your family. I can’t make dinner tonight. Flying to Oklahoma to see my dad. He’s sick. Nothing major but I want to make sure he eats. Sometimes he forgets during the season. Thanks again, Corn Fed.”
Cane messaged back. “Do you want me to come with you?” He could fly to Oklahoma and back before the game to spend time with Alex.
Two minutes later, a response came. “No. You’re already too into me. If you come, you’ll be picking out China patterns and looking at engagement rings. Better call a time out and get some time on the bench.”
Cane laughed as he typed. “Already picked it out. See you on the sidelines, sweetheart.”