Convenient Fall (Players of Marycliff University Book 2) (27 page)

He grinned and stood up, undoing his belt, his eyes never leaving hers. She was topless before he'd gotten further than unzipping, and his eyes dropped to her naked chest. He leaned one knee on the bed again and reached for her, his hands running over her torso to cup her breasts. Her nipples hardened against his palms and he tweaked them with his fingers before lowering his head to suck one into his mouth. She hissed when he scraped his teeth over it, hard enough to sting a little, but immediately made better with firm pressure from his tongue. She clutched his head, her fingers tightening in his hair, arching into him. He sucked on her nipple, rubbing his tongue over it, and pulled back until he released it with a pop before switching to the other side.
 

After spending a few minutes there, he pulled back and looked down at her body, groaning. “You still have pants on.”

“So do you.”

He nodded absently, stood back up, and watched her fingers fall to the button of her pants. He pushed his own jeans and boxers down, his eyes never straying from her body. She pushed everything down, shimmying a little and taking her time, giving him a little show since he was watching so intently. With a whoosh the room spun and she found herself on her back, Chris yanking her pants and panties the rest of the way off her legs and tossing them over his shoulder without looking. They hit the top of the dresser and knocked a few things over with a clatter and a thunk as something fell to the floor.

His grin was a little sheepish, but soon turned wicked again as he pounced on her. She spread her legs while he situated himself between them again, in the same place he'd been minutes before when they'd both been clothed. She sighed. It was so much better when they were naked. His cock rubbed against her, the head bumping into her clit every time he moved.
 

He reached for the nightstand, pulled out a condom, and sat up again to roll it on. His hand went between her legs, sliding a finger inside her, spreading her wetness around, rubbing it into her clit, adding another finger. Tingles shot up her spine from the pressure of his fingers inside her and the way his thumb circled around her clit. She arched, moaning, enjoying the way he watched her reactions to him. Her hands trailed to her breasts and she tugged at her nipples. If possible, his eyes darkened further. He licked his lips, leaning forward and replacing one of her hands with his mouth. He pulled his fingers out and positioned his cock at her entrance. With one thrust, she was fully impaled.
 

She arched, welcoming his invasion. God, she'd missed this. She hadn't gone so many days in a row without him since they'd gotten together.
 

He threaded his fingers through hers, holding her hands above her head, his eyes never leaving hers. She wanted to close her eyes or turn away, the raw intimacy of their eye contact while he moved inside her so slowly and exquisitely almost too much, but the force of his gaze compelled her to stay. Each thrust made her gasp, almost crying out. She wrapped her legs around him to trap him with her body as much as he trapped her.
 

He brought his knees under him and released her hands. He wrapped his arms underneath her, levering her up and onto his lap, the new position causing him to sink in even further. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started to unwind her legs from around his back so she could plant her feet to get some leverage, but one of his hands smoothed down her leg, indicating that he wanted her legs around him still, so she left them there, rocking against him. He guided her movements, his hands under her ass, her arms on his shoulders helping her, but every thrust was slow and torturous. Finally when she wasn't sure how much longer she could take this slow pace, he leaned her back in his arms and picked up the tempo. One hand came around, cupping her face, his thumb placed just over her lips. She sucked it into her mouth, her tongue swirling around it and Chris sucked in a breath.

His thumb came out from between her lips wet and shiny. He ran his hand down her body, between her breasts, over her belly, until his palm rested on her mound. His thumb dipped between them, circling over her clit, his touch light, the pace slow. As his thrusts grew faster, the pressure from his thumb grew firmer, circling faster and faster until he pressed it against her clit on one hard thrust and she shattered, her head thrown back, eyes closed, her back arched over his arm, her hands still clutching at his shoulders and her legs tight around his waist.
 

After her orgasm passed, her limbs were limp and she had trouble holding onto Chris. He lay her back on the bed, taking her mouth in a searing kiss while he pounded into her, her legs still wrapped around him, until he followed her into that shuddering oblivion.
 

He collapsed half on top of her, his arms gathering her to his chest, their legs tangled together. They stayed that way until he started to grow soft, and with a groan, Chris got up, his fingers wrapped around the base of the condom.

When he crawled back into the bed with her, he gathered her against his chest again, and dropped a kiss on her mouth. “I hope you got plenty to eat because I don't plan on letting you out of bed until morning.”

She smiled up at him. Warmth spread through her chest and a sense of rightness settled over her. “I can get on board with that plan.” She kissed him back.

They ended up foraging in the kitchen after a few hours, reduced to cleaning out the back of the pantry and getting creative, promising each other they'd go to the grocery store the next day to buy the pies they'd missed that afternoon and stock up on real groceries. It was the best Thanksgiving Megan could remember.

EPILOGUE

Megan made her way down the steps of the Corbin Coliseum along with the rest of the graduation attendees. Mike, Chris's dad, led the way, his broad shoulders cutting a path through the crowd, making it easy for her to follow. They were on their way to the reception that was set up in the student center. Chris and his mom Sharon, who had been his escort in the ceremony to put his academic hood on him, were meeting them there rather than trying to find each other in the crowded coliseum.
 

Once outside, Mike turned toward Megan and let her catch up to walk beside him. He smiled down at her. “Thanks again for helping Chris get on track. I don't think he would've graduated without your help.”

Megan waved away the compliment. “You keep thanking me. Chris was the one who decided to get serious and do it. He put in the work. I just helped him get organized.”

“Still. Sharon and I appreciate what you've done for him.” His eyes, the same hazel as Chris's, beamed down at her, matching the warm smile on his face. He draped an arm across her shoulders and squeezed her close for a second before he released her. Megan managed not to stiffen, getting more used to the casual displays of affection from Chris's parents that she'd never had from hers, especially not her own father. They were free with hugs, kisses on the cheek, and other gestures with Chris, and by extension Megan. As a couple, Mike and Sharon were often touching when they were together. Nothing gross, but they held hands and sat snuggled together on the couch. It was easy to see where Chris got his penchant for displays of affection with her.
 

Once inside the student center, they moved more slowly, both of them scanning the crowd until they found Chris and Sharon. Sharon hugged Megan when they approached, squeezing her tightly before releasing her and stepping next to Mike, who slid his arm around Sharon and pressed a kiss to her upturned mouth. Megan smiled when Chris did almost the same thing to her, though he had to bend over further.

Megan felt like a shrimp with Chris's family. She was average height, but Chris and his dad were both over six feet tall, and Sharon was at least five eight or five nine flat-footed, and she wore heels when she dressed up.
 

Megan reached up and touched the gold colored fabric around Chris's neck, signifying that he now held a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science. She smiled up at him. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” He smiled back down at her. “Next May it'll be your turn. I'll be your escort and hood you.”

Her breath caught for a moment, and she dropped her eyes back to the hood at his throat. “You might not be able to, though. You might be busy with the team.”

Chris had done well at the Regional Combines in Phoenix and gotten an invite to the Super Regional. He'd been drafted the week before in the sixth round by the Washington Mountain Lions. He was ecstatic and they'd celebrated with a party with everyone that mattered that weekend. They’d decided to have their own private celebration and were leaving Monday for a week away together at a cabin in the woods now that he'd graduated. It was a little one bedroom luxury cabin with all the amenities, including a hot tub. Its isolation made it perfect. No roommates or other distractions, just time to spend together. Since they would be doing the long distance thing starting in July when Chris left for training camp, they wanted to capitalize on any and all time together that they could.

He tilted her chin up so she looked him in the eye again. “It'll be the off-season. I'll be back as soon as my team's done for the season. Even if we go all the way to the Super Bowl, I'll be home by Valentine's Day. You're not getting rid of me that easily.”

“Megan, you know you can come stay with us when he has home games so you can go see him,” put in Mike, drawing her attention.
 

Sharon nodded enthusiastically. “Of course. We won't take no for an answer.”

Megan smiled. “Okay.”

They made their way to the line for finger foods and cookies, chatting about Chris getting drafted. It was still such a new thing that it seemed surreal.
 

Megan had just filled her plate and was turning away from the table when Mike stepped next to her. “So, Chris tells me you had a solo art show at a local gallery recently.”

Megan nodded, holding her hand in front of her mouth while she finished chewing and swallowing. “Yes. It went really well, actually. My advisor set it up with a friend of hers that owns a small gallery downtown. I sold about half of my paintings, and have a couple commissions for more.”

She’d managed to follow through with the idea she’d had at the beginning of the year when she saw all the shirtless football players at the party.  The studies in the lines of the body and contrasting skin tones had done very well.  Chris and Matt and some of their friends had helped, posing for her along with some of the figure models she knew from her classes.  She’d felt like an anatomy illustrator while she worked, but the end result was stunning according to all her professors.
 

Mike's eyes widened in admiration. “Wow. That's great.” He leaned closer, his voice lowering. “Chris told us about the falling out with your parents. I hope you know that we'll be there for you the way families should.” He straightened up. “Let us know when you have another show. Sharon and I would love to come. Especially next fall when Chris won't be able to attend as easily.”

Megan smiled at him, blinking rapidly to hold back her tears. She'd never known how it felt to have parents who supported her choices. How nice it must have been for Chris to grow up with that. They were happy that he'd graduated at all and didn’t care that his GPA was average or that he didn't get any honors. Her parents were disappointed with just about every choice she'd made since high school. When he'd told his parents about pursuing his dream of playing for the NFL, they'd offered to pay for his airfare to get to the Regional Combines. His dad had even flown down to support him at the Super Regional, not wanting him to go through the entire process alone.

Sharon joined them while Chris chatted with some of his former teammates that were also graduating. “What are we talking about?”

“Megan's art shows.”

Sharon's face brightened, her blue eyes lighting up. “Oh, yes. I saw your paintings at the house. They're wonderful. Chris said your show went really well. Do you have another one lined up yet?”

Megan shook her head, her mouth full again.

“Well, tell us when you do. And when you come visit, I'll see if I can introduce you to my client who owns an art gallery in Bremerton. She's always on the lookout for new talent.” Sharon worked as a CPA and she had clients all over the Kitsap Peninsula, many of whom she also counted as friends.

Megan's heart fluttered. Who would've guessed that her boyfriend's parents would help her art career. “Thank you. That would be amazing. I don't know when we'll be over that way next, but I'll make a special effort to come if you set that up.”

Sharon waved a hand. “Of course. Anything we can do to help. I'll send Janice an email later and see when she has openings she needs to fill.”

Megan was blown away. Never had anyone just randomly offered her support and connections like this. Her art professors helped and supported her, but that was expected. Since her own parents didn't support her art pursuits, she didn't expect anyone else's parents to do so, much less offer to connect her with someone who could help advance her career.
 

Although, Megan's mom had come to her show. Alone. They'd spoken briefly and neither of them had mentioned Megan's dad. It was clear from her mom's attitude that he still wasn't acknowledging her. She hadn't stayed long, but it was something, and Megan recognized it for the olive branch it was. Her mom had started calling a few times a month to check in since Thanksgiving. Their conversations were short and only happened when Megan's dad wasn't home, but it was more contact than they'd had for almost a year prior to that. Megan appreciated the strength it took for her mom to go against her dad's wishes. She couldn't think of a time when that had ever happened before.