Page 86 of Meant for Mayhem

She set Leena down on the floor, then turned to face me. “Your body had a reaction to the adrenaline still in your system. That’s not something to be embarrassed about. And no, I do not want to quit.”

I frowned, not expecting her to downplay the fact that I’d shown her I had a raging erection while we were sitting on the couch doing literally nothing together.

“I mean, I’m not stupid. I know the reputation athletes have, especially with that much adrenaline in their system. A different woman in every city, right?”

“That’s not⁠—”

“Actually,” she cut in. “We’ve never discussed this in our agreement. What are the rules for us sleeping with someone? Am I supposed to turn a blind eye if you sneak a woman up after a game?”

“I would never.”

The words came so fast that she blinked in response.

“Okay. That solves that, then, I guess.”

This entire conversation was so far from what I expected, my mind couldn’t even determine which way was up, but the thought of my wife with someone else made any sort of restraint I had dissolve into nothing.

“Don’t get it confused, wife,” I leaned in to whisper. “You’re the only one in my head.”

She leaned back to look at me, those pretty lips open. Her dark eyes were dilated like a few nights ago. So even when my mind began screaming the alarms that I’d fucked up this time, I ignored it.

Instead, I focused on the way her tongue came out, wetting her lips.

I put my hand under her chin, then swiped a thumb over that bottom lip I couldn’t look away from. “So if you need someone, needing anything, you come to me. You let your husband take care of you. Understood?”

Her breath came in little rasps, eyes darting all over my face, but with my hand under her chin, I felt her little nod.

Good.

I stepped away before I pushed this any further, giving her space to think over my words. My heart was racing, my hands flexing at my side with as much adrenaline as a post-game high from the images flashing in my mind.

But I didn’t regret it. Not when I wanted her to know that anything she wanted from me was hers for the taking.

“We leave in an hour,” I said over my shoulder.

“Understood.”

It was probably in response to our departure, but I couldn’t help but smile.

Couldn’t stop myself from twisting it into a new sort of agreement.

Couldn’t avoid yet another cold shower at the thought of my wife.

I carried Leena across the tarmac toward the team plane, her diaper bag on my shoulder and our suitcase in hand. Shannon walked a step in front of us, head turning in every direction to take it all in. Her hands were pinched in the straps of her backpack, pulling it taught against her body. It looked like a nervous gesture, even if her face was calm.

Traveling on a private plane wasn’t the same as flying commercially. There were no gate attendants, no lines as we waited to board, no paging systems sending travelers into a panic over delayed flights. Instead, we got off the team bus on the tarmac, then walked the short distance to a set of metal stairs leading up to the plane.

“Shannon!” Logan called as he weaved between our teammates and headed toward us. “Wait up!”

My wife turned to look over her shoulder at him, his hair flopping all over the place in the cool breeze.

“Do I no longer matter to you?” I asked.

“Psh. I see you all the time. These guys, though.” He leaned in and tickled Leena’s belly, making her giggle even as she pulled into me. “You didn’t sit by me on the bus.”

Logan turned to Shannon, hands outstretched like he was about to tickle her too.

Shannon shoved right in the middle of his forehead, pushing him out of reach. “Touch me and die.”