Chapter 25 - Xavier

Xavier

“ P ain shuttles, lads. Let’s go.”

The assistant training coach blew his whistle and off we went. I didn’t mind sprinting from cone to cone too much. Helps with my endurance. And with all the extracurricular activities I planned to do with Victoria, this would come in rather handy.

Admittedly, I moved a little too fast at her place last night. My intention was to talk first but when she opened the door and stood there all shocked and gorgeous and real, I couldn’t help it. Which is a major flaw, I know. My impulsiveness is notorious for getting me into trouble.

“Good job, Maddox. Rest up, then get in goal.”

I ambled over to the sideline and grabbed some water. The pitch was pristine for a practice field. This whole facility was actually quite amazing.

“Quiet night last night?” Cade asked with a shit-eating grin on his face .

“Yep. Spent some quality time at the spa.”

“Is that what you call it these days? Got a proper rubdown, did you?”

“Jealous?” I smirked and walked toward the net.

“Fucking tosser,” he shouted after me with a laugh.

Cade can be obnoxious most of the time but he means well. He knew how nervous I was to show up unannounced at her place. I even had the idiot’s voice in my head when I knocked on her door.

She’s a good one, Maddox. Don’t fuck it up.

Inspiring? No. But it gave me a laugh.

I joined our two back-up keepers for some reps in goal. All things being equal, my attention wasn’t one hundred percent focused on training. Good thing Harry and Christian were on their game. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t miss when my turn rolled around. My attention just kept drifting to the massive steel and glass building in the background. The Legends stadium.

I wanted her to come out and watch. I wanted to see if she could hide her desire and arousal. I’m not daft. The video she sent last weekend gave me loads of ideas. I’m ready to push her limits even more now.

Of course Bennet had something to say about that earlier. I know he pressed her pretty hard about discussing limits with me. I know why, too. It’s another one of our unspoken understandings.

He’s protective but also knows when to back off. Thing is, Bennet and I function differently when it comes to women and how we are behind closed doors. Or not so closed doors, depending on the situation.

“Xavier,” Coach Hart yelled over to me. “Reflex drills.”

I nodded. All thoughts of Victoria dissolved from my mind when the drills began. About a dozen cones lay scattered in the penalty box. I never knew which one Coach Hart would kick a ball from so I had to be focused and alert. Plus, one of the second team players stood ready to take a shot any time I punched a ball out. I always had to be ready to block.

Kick.

Block.

Reset.

Kick.

Block.

Reset.

The ball came flying back to my right a second after I punched it out. Extending my arms as far as I could, I dove for the ball, hitting it away. The force of it vibrated through my gloved hands.

“That’s the one,” Hart yelled, clapping. “That’s the save we’re looking for, Xavier. Game changing.”

Honing my fitness, speed, and movement for all these years improved my ability to make fast, high-frequency saves over and over. Probably why I’m the best in the league and represent England for international matches.

Another set of drills. More kicks, more blocks, more quick reactions.

My back hit the grass when I finished.

“Get up, old man,” Harry teased, offering his hand.

Panting and laughing, I grabbed it and stood. “At least I don’t look as knackered as you,” I retorted.

Harry flicked me off and glanced at the sideline. “What’s going on over there?”

I looked to see what he was talking about. Bennet stood with our team manager and another, older gentleman. Hannah was also there. My heart stilled.

I scanned around but didn’t see Victoria. Maybe she decided not to come down to the field. That’s disappointing. I remembered Bennet telling me Hannah’s grandfather owned the Legends, so that must be who he’s standing with.

“Legends owner,” I told him. “Probably wanted to come see some real football.”

“Maddox, one. American football, nil,” Christian joked.

The three of us walked toward the sideline to join the rest of the team before breaking for lunch. Bennet caught my eye and waved me over.

“Excuse me, gents. Time to go impress the big executives.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Harry chided. “Don’t trip over your big ego on the way.”

Cade’s laughter echoed as I walked around some of my teammates. When he came into view, I prepared to fire off a sarcastic remark and—

Victoria .

She stood inches away from Cade, laughing and smiling in her demure, light brown polka dot dress. The top hugged her curves with precision while the bottom flowed out to just above her knees in a delicate, soft way that made me want to yank it up over her hips. Her hair was pulled back in a loose bun. She looked prim and professional, except for those fuck me heels and the deep red shine on her lips.

Images of her bent over the kitchen counter surged right to my dick, reigniting how wild it made me seeing her so turned on from the spanking and her version of submission, which was actually just plain old submission.

I smiled.

She must have felt my presence because she looked right at me.

Her candy coated lips curved into a grin as her eyes darkened and studied every inch of me. Especially the noticeable bulge outlined in my pants. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip and so help me I wanted to bite it, too. And much harder.

“Xavier,” Bennet’s impatient voice snapped me back to reality. He leveled one of his I’m-tired-of-waiting stares at me. “I’d like to introduce you to someone. You too, Cade.”

“Guess the lord of the manor decided to make an appearance today,” Cade snickered .

“Don’t be catty,” Victoria scolded, playfully swatting his arm.

“Yes, my queen.”

Cade shot me a smug look, linked arms with Victoria and walked toward Bennet. Victoria, for her part, winked at me and smiled. I liked how well she got on with my friends. I liked how well she handled herself with Bennet. I liked how good-natured she is around Cade. I liked everything about her.

I clasped my gloved hands together and followed, watching Victoria’s hips sway until she stopped walking. The way she stood, positioning one leg slightly in front of the other so her hip leaned out to the side, exuded effortless grace. She’s so bloody hypnotizing. I stood next to her closer than was socially acceptable for a professional setting. I don’t fucking care.

Control, Maddox. Control.

“Cade. Xavier. I’d like you to meet Ethan Caldwell, owner of the New York Legends.” Bennet motioned toward us as he addressed Mr. Caldwell. “Cade Gallagher is our striker. Xavier Maddox is our goalkeeper.”

We all exchanged pleasantries.

“Good training session?” Bennet asked, eyeing how close I still was to Victoria.

“Always.”

“Xavier Maddox?” Mr. Caldwell stroked his chin. “You’re not related to James Maddox are you? I’ve been looking at commercial properties in the London area and his name has come up several times.”

“I am, sir. He’s my father.”

“Does he still do architectural work or is he mainly in the development business now?”

“A bit of both.”

“What are the odds you’re also related to Rebecca?” he grinned, clearly knowing the answer already.

Keeping this conversation light and amicable became more difficult. I thought this was football training, not twenty questions about my family. Victoria’s arm brushed mine when she shifted on her feet. I glanced down into her wide, emerald eyes. They held even more questions.

“Rebecca is my step-mother. So, I’d say the odds are pretty good.”

I looked from Caldwell to Bennet to Hannah to Cade. All of them had smiles plastered to their faces for different reasons. Only Victoria remained stoic. I wondered what that was all about.

“And Mr. Gallagher,” Caldwell continued. “I understand you come from a family of solicitors.”

“I do, sir,” Cade responded. “Came in handy when I negotiated my contract with Royal City.”

Canned laughter that’s usually reserved for cocktail parties or business gatherings erupted around me. It reminded me of the parties my parents hosted for their clients.

“Full disclosure,” Hannah interjected. “My grandfather is a stickler for details about his players. They’ve all been through the family tree interrogation with him.” She smiled at me and Cade. “It’s all part of the experience.”

Um, yay? I hoped I wouldn’t have to answer any more questions about my upbringing.

“I made reservations for all of us this evening,” Bennet announced. “We’re having a team dinner. Mr. Caldwell and Hannah have graciously accepted my invitation.” He turned to Victoria. “I know you have a previous engagement but my offer stands. I’d love it if you joined us for coffee and dessert later.”

Hannah, Mr. Caldwell, and Bennet all said their goodbyes and made their way to the offices inside the stadium.

“I’m hitting the showers,” Cade said. “If you two want to join me, feel free.”

I shot him a dirty look before he jogged off. I could hear him laughing. Most of our teammates were gone by now to break for lunch. Only the equipment staff lingered on the pitch gathering cones and balls.

Victoria hadn’t moved. Her demeanor seemed tense, like she was deep in thought about something unpleasant.

“You have plans tonight?” I asked, feeling rather awkward for some reason.

“Yeah,” she responded. “I’m having dinner with my dad, if you can believe it.”

I turned to fully face her. “Are you looking forward to it?”

She crossed her arms and shrugged. Pieces of her hair fluttered in the breeze. I didn’t like how closed off she’d become.

“Are you alright, love?” When I reached for her she backed away. The rejection needled at my heart. “Victoria,” I said, my voice more strained than I expected. “Look at me.”

She studied me for a few seconds. “I’m okay.”

“Are we going to do the talking in circles thing again?”

“No,” she sighed. “I’m okay. Really. I just have a lot of crap on my mind.”

“Have you heard from your friend Killian?” I asked, trying to get her in a better mood.

“As a matter of fact I did.” Her face lit up. “I told him you’d love to hire him as your personal brand manager.”

My jaw dropped. I couldn’t tell if she was messing with me or not. “You did?”

“No.” She laughed. “I just wanted to see the look on your face. It did not disappoint.”

I grinned. “You’re lucky I like it when you tease me.”

“Is that so?” The white of her teeth dug into the dark red staining her plump bottom lip. So damn sexy.

“What are these made from?” she asked, reaching for me and running a finger down my gloved palm.

“That side? Latex mostly.” Half a dozen filthy thoughts raced through my mind. “Why do you want to know?”

A coquettish glint sparked in her eyes. “I liked watching you practice.”

“Oh?” I clasped my hands together below my stomach. “What did you like about it?”

“The way you move. You have this ability to control your body in ways I’ve never seen before. One minute you’re ferocious. The next, calm. It’s fascinating.”

She turned and faced the goal. A stronger breeze blew between us, fusing the side of her dress to her body, accentuating her curves. The delicate hem floated up exposing the supple arc of her backside.

Her bare backside…

“Dirty princess,” I spoke in a dangerous tone, approaching her. “Turn toward me.”

She failed at hiding a smile when she did as I asked, which should have annoyed me. But since it’s her it only succeeded in turning me on. I removed one glove and slid my hand under her dress, finding nothing but smooth skin.

“No knickers?”

“Not right now.”

I squeezed her ass. “What does not right now mean?”

Her eyes flashed with passion, defiance, and arousal. “It means I took them off before coming outside to watch you.”

Oh fuck this woman is so uninhibited and sexy and I love it. Now we were truly the only ones left on the pitch. Everyone else was gone, including the equipment crew.

“You did this on purpose?”

A single nod.

My fingers dug into the soft flesh of her backside. “Naughty girl. What if your dress had blown up in a breeze with everyone standing around?”

“I wasn’t worried about it. ”

“You should be.” The danger in my tone was unmistakable now. I slid my hand around to see if my suspicions were true.

Oh yeah, they were. She was soaked. I cupped cup her hot, wet pussy. “Is this from watching me practice or from standing here in a crowd of people with your cunt exposed?”

“From both, Xavier,” she replied in the softest, sweetest sounding voice.

I bent my head so my mouth hovered at her ear. “I get to choose who sees what belongs to me.” She shuddered when I teased her folds with my fingers. “Filthy, filthy girl. So wet and ready for my cock. Or do you want my fingers? What about my tongue?”

She was holding onto my arms now, digging her nails into the fabric of my shirt. I had to be careful I didn’t let this go too far. The edge of restraint and reckless taking is more and more blurry these days.

“Does it drive you wild?” she asked in an urgent tone. “Knowing I’m exposed under this dress with your teammates around? With your best friend standing next to me?”

I stopped teasing her cunt.

“Will it drive you mad wondering how I’ll get myself off when I go back to my office? How deep I’ll shove my fingers inside myself? What I’ll be thinking about when I play with my clit?”

“Victoria.” Her name came out of my mouth in a strangled breath. “Enough.”

“Does it make you hard? Untamed?”

I grabbed her hands and pinned them behind her back. Putting her in this position pressed her body into mine. “Yes it does. And if you keep teasing me like this I’ll take you over my knee right here and spank your ass until you either learn to behave or scream my name while you come. Or both.”

Her soft moan went straight to my aching dick. The green in her eyes exploded around her dilated pupils. I collared her delicate throat with my gloved hand, feeling the velocity of her pulse. I was about to lose my mind if I didn’t shag her right this second.

And then she smiled.

A fucking gorgeous, full smile that rendered me useless and allowed the roughest part of me to take over.

“Just checking,” she purred.

I sucked in a breath and exhaled harshly. The entirety of the earth’s gravity could just about hold me back from ravaging every inch of her body on this grass.

I clamped my eyes shut. “Fuck,” I said through clenched teeth. “I don’t know what it is about you, Victoria, but you bring out the absolute beast in me.”

I opened my eyes to her smile. Wide and teasing and sweet and sexy. And then my chest did the feeling thing and so help me, I love this smile.

She cupped her hand over my erection and stroked it through my clothes. “And you bring out the dirtiest little princess in me.”

Well that did it. I grabbed her arm and led her toward the changing room.

“Do you have any meetings or anything right now?” I asked, not really giving a shit if she did. Animal instinct and my cock were making all the decisions.

“No.”

“Good.”

I practically kicked the locker room door open and yanked her inside.

Empty.

I paused, listening for any water running in the showers.

Nothing.

I rounded on Victoria and growled, “Get on your knees.”

“Am I in trouble?” she asked, a bit coyly, as she kneeled.

“Yes. Big trouble.”

She smiled, crossing her ankles behind her .

Not submissive my ass .

I removed my other glove and tossed them both to the floor, noticing the slight pout on her lips.

“Don’t look so disappointed,” I said. “Or I won’t use them at all.”

“Oh. Okay, I can wait,” she breathed. “Do you want me to suck you now?”

I ran my thumb along her full lower lip, pulling it down. “No. I want this gloss smeared all over my cock while I fuck your mouth.” I jerked my chin down toward my pants. “Take them off.”

The second she reached for the waistband I heard a noise coming from the small office in the back.

“Nobody else is using this part of the facility this week, right?” I asked, placing a protective hand on her head.

“No. Just you guys. This is the visitor’s room. Nobody else is scheduled for another two weeks.”

“Stand up,” I said. “I’m going to have a look around.”

“I thought you liked having an audience,” Victoria teased, getting to her feet.

“You’re already in enough trouble, love.” I put my finger to her lips. “Don’t make it worse.”

Her laughter had its desired effect on me. I couldn’t get enough of how melodic it always sounded.

A scratching or dragging noise came from the office, followed by a loud thud. We both looked at one another. I put my finger in front of my mouth, signaling silence.

The blinds on the window facing into the changing room were shut. I approached the side door and looked through the glass.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

“What the fuck are you doing in here?” I shouted, opening the door.

My step-brother spun around, pale as a ghost.

“Jesus, Xavier. Are you trying to give me a heart attack? ”

“Not at this particular moment, no. What are you doing in here?”

“If you must know,” he huffed. “I’m unpacking a few things for Graham. Moving these chairs around a bit. Putting this dry erase board in a better spot. He asked me to set out some game plans for Saturday.”

“Are you his lackey now? More arse kissing to get more time on the pitch?”

“Sod off,” his voice rose. “Not everyone is perfect like you. Maybe I’m aiming to be a manager someday.”

“Oh that’s rich,” I taunted. “A manager.”

“Wow,” he snickered. “Already pulling birds in the States. Were you about to shag her in there?”

In all the commotion I didn’t see Victoria come up next to me. But Adam did.

He glanced dismissively in her direction. “You should check to see where his cock’s been before he sticks it in you and buggers off.”

Nothing but red rage filled my vision. If not for Victoria’s quick movement to get in between us, I would have slammed his face into the floor.

“Hey,” she shouted. “I will not have this in my stadium. Enough. Both of you.”

I scowled and folded my arms. Adam stopped rearranging the white board and looked at Victoria. Really looked at her. His face morphed from annoyance to recognition to disbelief.

“Charlotte?” he whispered.

I barely caught Victoria before she hit the ground.