The Final Score by Jaci Burton
Once everyone had been through the line, Tara made Mia grab a plate.
"Come on," Tara said. "Now it's our turn."
They got food and Tara led them to an unoccupied table in the corner. She signaled to one of her staff, who arrived with two glasses of wine.
"Now, this is perfect," Tara said after she took a sip of her cabernet.
"Thank you, Tara. I could have gotten my own drink, but I really appreciate you handling it."
"You've been on your feet the entire time talking to people, getting them drinks and chatting up Nathan's team members and the Riley clan. You know you're not working this party. I hired staff to take care of that. You're supposed to be having fun."
Mia smiled. "I am having fun. I got to meet members of Nathan's family that I hadn't met before. He's spent so much time talking about them that I felt I already knew them."
"I'm glad you've had a chance to meet them. They're all wonderful and sometimes a pain in the ass."
Mia laughed. She dug into the food, which was amazing, of course. Everything Amelia created was outstanding.
She looked around, hoping Amelia had stopped to take a break. She smiled when she spotted her at a table with Flynn. She was sipping on a glass of wine and listening to Flynn and some of the guys from the team chatting.
Good.
Her gaze drifted to some of the nearby tables, settling on Nathan, who was deep in conversation with his dad, along with his grandparents and his family. It made her heart squeeze to see him so relaxed. Clearly his family centered him.
"So tell me, Mia, how do you really feel about Nathan?"
Her gaze zipped back to Tara. "I'm sorry. What?"
Tara graced her with an all-knowing smile. "You can be honest with me, and it won't hurt my feelings if you say you don't care about him."
"I adore him, Tara. He's one of my best friends."
Tara laid her fork on top of her plate. "But there's more to it than that, right?"
Oh, God. Was it written all over her face? Had she betrayed herself with some kind of emotion even she wasn't aware of? "Honestly? I don't know. We've been friends so long, and here and there it's been more than that. But I've tried so hard to keep it strictly platonic, because my friendship with Nathan means so much to me, and I'm scared to death of losing it."
Tara nodded. "I can understand that. I also see the way he looks at you. I get the idea he wants more."
"He does."
"The question is, do you?"
"I . . . don't know. Yes and no, which is a terrible answer, I know."
"I know you're conflicted. But you have to either tell him friendship is all you're ever going to offer, or you need to fall headlong into some kind of relationship with him. Dancing around it isn't good for either of you, especially with what's going on in both your professional lives. You don't need the additional emotional conflict in your personal lives."
Tara was right, and Mia realized she'd been teasing the edge of friends, friends with benefits or a full-on relationship for a while now. And that wasn't fair to Nathan. It was time to make a decision.
"Of course you're right. I need to decide."
Tara reached across the table and laid her hand over Mia's. "I love my son, of course, but I also care about you, Mia. And I don't want to lose your friendship, either. So I understand your dilemma. I don't want either of you to get hurt."
"Thank you, Tara. Neither do I."
She took a deep breath and let it out, then reached for her glass of wine to take a long swallow, hoping it might give her some clarity. Though she doubted it. She needed more than alcohol to give her the answers she needed.
What she needed was to talk to Nathan, to be with him, to figure out the right answers.
She didn't have to look far because after Tara left the table to check on her staff, Nathan slid into the chair next to her.
"Where the hell have you been all night?"
She'd had just enough wine to feel relaxed. "I've been here the whole time. Are you having fun?"
His lips curved. "I am." He put his beer on the table and reached under the table to lay his hand on her thigh. "I really want to pull you onto my lap and kiss you for putting this all together. And okay, I want to kiss you because you're smart and beautiful and because I always want to kiss you."
She tingled all over as she took in his words. "Thank you. And you're welcome. Your mom and Amelia did a lot of the work."
"I'll bet you did a lot, too. My mom told me this was all your idea."
"I just suggested it. Everyone else ran with it."
He looked around. "Dammit. Too crowded in here."
"Too crowded for what?"
"For me to kiss you."
"Nathan." She said his name with a laugh. "Are you drunk?"
"Maybe a little. But you look really nice, and you smell sweet." He moved closer to her. "And I want to spread your legs and eat your pussy and make you come."
Mia's clit quivered and she went instantly damp. She took a swallow of wine. "Is that right?"
"Yeah."
It was at that moment she knew exactly what she wanted. She stood. "You need to come with me."
She had seen the room earlier in the week when they'd done the walk-through of the venue. It was a huge coat closet, used in the winter.
But it wasn't winter and there weren't any coats in there. So no one would be using the space. She looked around to make sure no one followed them. But just to be sure, she wandered a bit aimlessly for a few seconds along the hallway.
Nathan looked at her. "Where are we going?"
Finally, she took his hand. "In here."
She opened the door to the coat closet, flipped on the light, then closed and locked the door behind her.
"Oh. A coat closet. Haven't hidden in one of these since elementary school."
She pushed him up against the wall. "I'll want to hear that story sometime. But right now, I have something else in mind."
"Yeah? What's that?"
She pressed into him and splayed her hands over his spectacularly fine chest. Then she scraped her nails up the crisp cotton of his shirt and over his shoulders, and swept her hand around his neck to draw his head closer to hers.
"We'll start here."
When their lips touched, she felt as if she'd melted on the spot. His mouth was delicious, his tongue sending pinpricks of sensation all over her body.
Nathan wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her closer. She responded with a moan of absolute delight.
She hadn't realized how much she'd wanted his mouth on hers until right now. And now that she had it, she wanted to stay like this for hours, exploring and tasting. But she knew she couldn't risk it, so she pulled away.
Nathan arched a brow. "I'm hoping you had something more in mind than just a short make-out session."
"I do. It's your birthday present."
She caught the sparkle in his eye.
"Oh, good. I hope my present involves you getting naked."
"We might get there at some point tonight. But for now?" She grabbed a thick coat out of the box marked "Lost and Found" and propped it on the wood floor.
Nathan looked down at Mia. "Are you serious?"
Mia didn't answer, just gave him the hottest smile with her gorgeous, red-painted full lips. Nathan's cock rose to attention, and when she unzipped his pants, he couldn't think of anything he wanted more than Mia's sexy mouth wrapped around his dick.
She reached into his pants and rubbed his shaft. He was pretty sure he forgot how to breathe.
And when she pulled his pants down and then his boxer briefs, her warm hand circling his cock, he let out a groan. Fortunately, the venue was loud and there was music, and hell, he tuned it all out anyway. All he cared about right now was Mia, the way she looked up at him, that fiery blue light in her eyes as she leaned in and put her lips over him.
"Christ."
Her mouth was wet heat, her lips suctioning around him as she brought him
"Oh, fuck yeah. Suck it, Mia."
He didn't know what he'd done to deserve this, but all rational thought fled as she bobbed her head forward and engulfed him. He'd never felt anything so good, so torturously, mind-alteringly hot in his life. His balls tightened and he could blow his load right now into her sweet, hot mouth. But he wanted these amazing sensations to linger, wanted to watch the way his cock kept disappearing and reappearing in and out of Mia's mouth. He could hold back. He could wait.
But then she cupped his balls and gave them a light massage as she pressed the roof of her mouth down over his cock and flicked her tongue over his shaft.
He wrapped his hand around her head, needing to control her movements.
"Just like that. Oh, fuck, suck it like that."
And for all that was holy he thought he was a master at control but Mia was the mistress of blow jobs and he could only take so much.
"I'm gonna lose it here, babe," he said, so into the rhythm he found himself shoving his hips forward, feeding his cock into her mouth deeper and deeper until the first spurts of come jettisoned from his cock. And then it was like an explosion. He might have yelled as he came. He didn't know, because his brain exploded with his orgasm and he felt light-headed, palming the wall for support as Mia took what he gave her. He watched her throat work and it was so damn hot it made his knees weak.
He wasn't even sure he was breathing when it was over. In fact, he was pretty sure his heart had stopped a long time ago.
Maybe he was dead. If he was, that had been one hell of a way to go.
Mia finally let go of him and he pulled her up and took her mouth in a hot kiss that made her moan and got him fired up all over again.
He rubbed her bottom lip with his thumb. "I'm not sure, because I think you blew my brains out my ears with that blow job, but I am almost certain I mentioned something about wanting to lick your pussy. And then we came in here and it was all about me, not all about you."
She gave him a wry smile. "It's not my birthday today."
"So, can it be my birthday every week?"
She laughed. "No. But I sure enjoyed that."
"I know I did." He looked around and found a sturdy-looking table at the back of the closet. "And there's something else I'll enjoy."
He led Mia to the back of the closet, then picked her up and sat her on the table. He spread her legs and lifted her dress over her hips.
She shuddered, then looked up at him. "I don't know, Nathan. We've already been gone awhile. We should get back to the party."
He knelt on the floor between her legs. "I promise I'll make you come fast."
The scent of her as he pulled her underwear to the side was enough to make him hard again. And the look on her face when he smoothed his hand over her thighs spurred him on to make this good for her. He could tell she was pent up and needy.
Yeah, he knew what that was like.
He flicked his tongue over her clit, heard her deep breath and wanted to give her more. So he put his mouth over her and laid his tongue flat.
She moaned, a long, low sound that told him he'd hit the right spot.
She tasted like salty honey as he smoothed his tongue over her and inside of her. She leaned back on her elbows and spread her legs wider, giving him full access. And when he slid a finger inside of her, she released a sound that made his balls quiver.
"Oh, yes. Just like that, Nathan. Fuck me with your finger and suck my clit."
He loved how verbal she was, that she gave him direction and told him what she liked. And damn if he didn't love giving it to her. And when she began to writhe against him, he knew she was close, so he pressed his tongue harder against her clit, rolling it over and over to give her the rhythm she needed to fall right over that cliff into orgasm.
"Oh, yes. I'm coming. I'm coming."
He bathed her pussy as she rocketed through her climax, using his lips and tongue to ratchet up her pleasure. She reached out for him and he grabbed her hand, giving her something to hold on to as she rolled through the spasms.
Then he kissed her thigh and stood up to smile at her.
She finally lifted her head. "Holy shit, Nathan."
His lips curved. He righted her underwear, smoothed her dress back in place and lifted her off the table, making sure to hold her in place while she got her bearings.
She lifted up and kissed him. "Thank you."
"Yeah, that was fun."
"And now you really need to get back to your friends and family." She brushed her fingertip over his lips. "But first, stop in the restroom and wash your face."
He laughed. "Yeah, I'll do that."
He started to leave, but then turned to her and pulled her into his arms. "We're going to continue this later. Naked. I want to be inside of you."
She looked up at him, her beautiful blue eyes clear as she met his gaze and nodded. "Yes."
He'd expected argument or waffling. There'd been none. He was happy about that. He brushed his lips across hers. "See you later."
She nodded and he stepped away, unlocked the door and ducked out.
He smiled as he made his way to the men's room.
Best damn birthday ever.
NINETEEN
THE PARTY WRAPPED UP AROUND MIDNIGHT. MIA WAS surprised that so many people had stayed that long, but then again they had the deejay and a dance floor and the bars, so of course everyone wanted to party. Nathan's grandparents had stayed 'til the end, and had even been out on the floor dancing with everybody.
She was so happy about the turnout, and it seemed everyone had a great time.
The best part was, Tara had brought in a cleanup crew, so they didn't have to stay to clean up this mess.
"You're the best, Tara." Mia hugged her.
Tara gave her a squeeze back. "You're the one who took care of the invites. I was blown away by how many of Nathan's friends and teammates showed up."
"And you brought in the family in droves. He was so happy about that."
Tara grinned. "Well, we're just awesome, aren't we?"
Mia laughed. "I guess we are."
"Hey, anytime you want to leave sports management and come to work for me, you'd make an incredible event planner."
"It's good to have a backup plan. Thanks, Tara. Especially since my start-up is new. You just never know."
"You know I'm joking, right?"
"I wasn't. This party planning thing was fun. I could see myself doing it."
Tara laughed. "Okay, mogul. Time for you to go."
They walked to the door together. Nathan was chatting with Jamal, Wendy and Mick.
"Okay, we'll see you later."
"I'll see you at the gym on Monday," Jamal said.
"Nah. Probably at the gym tomorrow morning."
Jamal grinned. "You got it. We'll see which one of us shows up first."
"It'll be me."
"I dunno, Nathan. You look pretty out of it. You've had too many beers. My guess is you sleep in."
"Hey, I'm not the one who was downing shots of whiskey with the offensive linemen. So I'm pretty sure you'll be the one sleeping in, asshole, while I'll have already run three miles and put in a hard iron press for thirty minutes before you even drag your ass out of bed."
Mia rolled her eyes and grabbed Nathan's arm. "Yeah, and then you can both compare dick sizes. Tomorrow. Good night, everyone."
"Hey, I wasn't done insulting Jamal," Nathan said as Mia took the keys from him and clicked the doors to unlock his SUV.
"Uh-huh. You can continue it in the morning."
"Hey," he said as he climbed in. "You driving?"
She got in the driver's seat. "I am."
He buckled his seat belt, then turned to her. "Are you okay to drive?"
"I'm fine. I only had a couple of glasses of wine the entire night."
"Okay, then. Drive it like you stole it."
She laughed. "I don't think I'll be doing that. But since we're in your vehicle and mine's a
He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. "I feel pretty great about it."
Yes, Nathan was seriously inebriated. She was glad he'd had such a good time.
She drove to her town house and pulled Nathan's SUV in front. By then he was lightly snoring, so she turned off the car.
"Nathan."
No response.
"Nathan."
Still nothing. She shoved at his shoulder. "Hey, beerhead, we're here."
He woke up and looked at her. "Great. Where's here?"
"My place."
"Okay. Let's get this party started."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, let's do that."
Nathan slid out of the car. Mia got her keys and went to the front door. Nathan followed behind her. They went inside and she locked the door behind her, knowing Nathan wasn't going anywhere tonight.
She laid her bag down and went into the kitchen. "How about some water?"
"A beer would be good."
She laughed. "No more beer for you."
He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her neck. "Did I ever tell you how good you smell?"
She leaned into him, enjoying the feel of his hard body against her. "You might have mentioned it."
"Let's go upstairs. I want to get you naked."
"Sure. I'm going to grab a glass of water first. How about unzipping my dress?"
He drew the zipper down. "Don't be too long."
"I won't."
Nathan disappeared up the stairs and she filled her glass with water, deciding to get a glass of water for Nathan, too. She checked a couple of text messages on her phone, mainly thank-you messages from party attendees. She smiled at that, then made her way up the stairs.
When she got to her bedroom, she leaned against the doorway and sipped her water, then shook her head.
She knew Nathan well. He could handle his liquor up to a point, but she'd watched him do several shots of whiskey with his friends and teammates, and she knew for a fact he was shitfaced. He might seem normal, but she'd been through this with him on countless nights out. And as soon as he sat still or lay down, he was out.
Like now. He'd taken off his shoes and had propped himself into a sitting position on her bed, no doubt to wait for her to come up.
And he was sound asleep.
She smiled, slid out of her dress and went into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. When she was done, she nudged him.