CHAPTER 18 JOLENE

I keep waiting for a text or a call from Jeremy—something, anything for him to apologize to his son for what happened, but it's useless.

He doesn't understand how much he keeps hurting our son, and as much as I want to hold him in my arms for the entire day, I can't. I have work to do, so I drop Jonah at my parents' house for the day on Saturday then head over to Lincoln's house to practice for our first podcast. Ellie's car is in the driveway when I get there, and after I ring the bell, I stand on the porch and wait.

Imagine my pure shock when the door opens and it's not Lincoln or Ellie standing there but Luke Dalton.

My jaw drops a little.

I've interviewed him before, but if there's anyone who might make me feel a little starstruck running into him unexpectedly, it's Luke Dalton.

I pull it together quickly. "Luke, so lovely to see you again," I gush.

I try not to gush. Really. But it's Luke Dalton. He's ridiculously hot, and now he's a dad, and he's just casually opening Lincoln Nash's door for me.

"Come on in. So great to see you, too," he says, sweeping the door open wider to allow me in. He follows me into the kitchen, where Ellie and Lincoln are chatting. She has a notepad in front of her, and she glances up when I walk in.

"Hey, Jo. We're just making a list of ways to start this pod out with a bang," she says.

"Are we doing any sponsors this first episode?" I ask.

Ellie nods. "I though the Gridiron would be a fantastic place to start."

"The…the Gridiron?" I repeat. "As in…we'll need to interview my parents?"

Ellie shrugs. "I told you I wanted to start this out with a bang. What better way than for Lincoln to have to interview his father's nemesis?"

I raise my brows. "Yeah, that's a bang. I mean, or we could talk about the expectations, long hours, and pressures of being a head coach."

"All in due time," Ellie says.

"I don't think it's a good idea to start there." I wince a little. "We'll want to tease it for an upcoming episode rather than hit it right out of the gate, don't you think?"

"Good point," Ellie murmurs. She crosses something off her list. "Okay, then the first week will be O'Leary's. Our goal is to produce thirty-minute shows each week. Our regular segments will include Behind the Scenes where Jolene will ask Lincoln questions about football, Guest Spot where you'll both chat with a guest about the topic of the week, either Tasty Treats or Entertaining Venues where you'll discuss a restaurant or show that's donating to our charity, and of course a Charity Drive segment where we'll talk about whatever charity we're benefitting. I've got a press conference lined up with the Aces on Monday, and Jack is totally on board with this."

"You didn't tell him about—" I start, but I cut myself short when I glance at Luke since I don't know if he knows about Lincoln and me.

She shakes her head.

"Okay. I think we need something interactive, too, to get fans hooked in to want to come back next week to see if they're named on air," I suggest.

"Oh, I love that. Like a Q and A?" Ellie asks.

I shrug. "That works. We could ask for questions for whoever we're interviewing the following week."

"Yes!" Ellie practically shouts with excitement, and I jump a little at her enthusiasm as Lincoln chuckles.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road," he suggests.

"Just talk it out here in the kitchen," Ellie says, and we get started with the short script Ellie drew up for us to introduce the show.

"And our first guest this week is…" I trail off as I glance at Ellie with a question in my eyes.

She inclines her head toward her husband.

"Luke Dalton?" I ask, a little too much excitement in my voice.

Luke smiles and waves. "Always happy to do whatever my wife tells me to do." His voice is dry, which tells me he was forced into it.

I giggle, and Lincoln narrows his eyes at me. I shrug innocently.

We manage to make it through our first practice session, and Lincoln and I plan to go tomorrow night with Sam and Dave to O'Leary's. It'll be the perfect place for me to patch things up with my best friend, and Dave will catch it all on video for the podcast so Rivera will see it all play out when he's cutting the film.

Ellie and Luke leave, and I have a little time before I have to pick up Jonah.

It's just Lincoln and me alone for the first time in what feels like forever.

"Congratulations on the first podcast practice. I think we're going to nail this thing," he says.

I nod. "Same to you, and I agree."

"There's just one problem," he says, and he sounds a little forlorn as he says it.

"Only one?" I huff out a chuckle.

"I haven't fucked you in far, far too long." His voice is low and deep when he says it, and heat prickles my skin.

I'm sitting on a stool at his pub-style kitchen table, and he stands and moves in between my legs. He runs his knuckles along my cheek before he bends down to drop his lips to mine.

A jolt of excitement lands squarely between my legs as our lips touch. He moves his hands to my hips, and he hoists me up so I'm straddling his waist. I grip his shoulders as I whimper at the sudden movement, and he sets me on top of his table, which is a better height for him, as he starts to thrust toward me.

He's hard. He's ready. I'm wet. I'm needy.

I shift toward him, and he moans as his tongue brushes mine. His hands inch down my body as we kiss hungrily, the ache deepening inside me as I feel ready for him. We kiss there in the kitchen as I perch on the table for a while, and I find myself lost in him again. It's just where I want to be, and it's a place I don't get to explore as often as I'd like. But this moment between us feels like it's everything I need to bring us back to where we need to be.

Maybe we can't tell anybody we're together. Maybe we have to hide and steal moments away like this. But maybe that's what's going to make us stronger in the end.

I run my fingertips under his black shirt and up the smooth skin of his back, and he pushes toward me again. I need these clothes off. I need us naked. I need to be writhing on top of him.

He's taking it slow, like we have all the time in the world, and meanwhile I think I might combust from need.

I move my hand from his warm skin and grab his hand that's currently trailing slowly up my torso. I place it on my breast, and I take his other hand and place it between my legs. He groans as he takes the hint, and he lifts me off the table. He lifts my shirt and tosses it to the floor, and I do the same to him. Our jeans come off next, and our underwear, and suddenly we're naked in his kitchen.

He pulls me against him, his skin hot against mine, the hardness of his chest tweaking my sensitive nipples as they brush against him.

His mouth finds mine again, and his hand trails down until his fingertips brush against my pussy. He reaches down and plunges a finger into me, a hot growl rising up from his chest as he feels how wet he makes me.

"God, I've missed you," he murmurs against my mouth, and then he scoops me up into his arms again and carries me over to that enormous couch of his.

"Lay down," I demand, and he does. I climb on top of him, and I grasp his hot, hard cock in my fist. I stroke him a few times, and he closes his eyes as if he's in pure bliss. Then I line his cock up and slide my pussy down on top of him.

"Oh, God," I moan, and I grab my own nipples between my fingers as I arch my back and move slowly over him.

"Fuck, you feel so good," he rasps, and he shoves his hips up toward me as I crash down over him. We find an easy rhythm together as we start to pick up speed, and his hand moves between my legs. He reaches down and strokes my clit as I slam down on top of him, and I cry out as my body starts to break under the intense pleasure. I squeeze my breasts as lightning seems to rip through me all at once between him filling me and touching my clit, and it's all too much too fast. The world starts to fall away around me as I focus on all the senses—his bergamot attacking my nose, and the feel of his touch, the taste of his tongue from a moment ago, the sound of his growls mixed with my moans and the sound of our bodies slapping together, the sight of his face as it contorts in pleasure beneath me. He bats one of my hands away, and he massages my breast, the rough palm of his hand making me ache for his mouth there as he brushes my clit with his other hand.

I don't want this moment to end. I don't want to give into the pleasure because then it'll be over again and there's a big question mark as to when we'll get to be together again, but I have no choice. My body betrays me.

A surge of electricity moves through me, and then it all crashes down over me as shockwaves radiate through my body. I scream out his name as I start to come, my nails digging into his chest as I lean forward to brace myself. His fingers continue their onslaught of pleasure on my nipple and my clit, and the waves of ecstasy consume me completely as my body rides the wave of a brutal and intense climax.

He goes rigid as my body trembles over his, and then his cock swells inside me as he growls out my name and my pussy clenches around him.

We fight through the bliss together, and when it starts to dissipate, neither of us is ready to move. Instead, I collapse on top of him with his cock buried inside me. I press a kiss to his neck where my lips land, and he grunts softly at the feel as we both live in the sweet moment of the afterglow.

I wish we could live here forever.

I wish we could figure out how we're ever going to move beyond this place where we find ourselves.

But until we can, I will savor every moment I'm lucky enough to have with this man.

I don't have any other choice.