Hi everyone! This is probably the last chapter I will be posting on Wattpad.  I've started the editing process and am looking forward to sharing the story with you when it is complete.  Please remember to follow me on twitter @sarahwhitewrite or facebook for news about the sequel. Here is the second unedited chapter of Rookie Playing for Keeps! Enjoy!

One Year Ago

January 2013

            The quick beeps of a setting car alarm had made my heart pound. Jackson had assured me that this was going to go smoothly, but I still had my doubts. It was one thing to bring someone new to a dinner at my father’s house; it was another to bring the man that had stolen my heart away from their dream spouse for me.  He’d already asked them for my hand in marriage, but I was there for the harsh words that had been spoken between Ben and Jackson and it was hard to imagine that anything could have smoothed over those hard feelings. 

            Caleb tapped on the window of Jackson’s big truck and I rolled it down so that I could hear him. “Come on sis, let’s get inside and get this thing started. I have somewhere I want to be.” He patted the side of the truck and rolled his eyes as if I had kept him waiting for hours already.

            “I’ve been trying to tell her,” Jackson shouts out at Caleb and I gave both of them my angriest face. Since when had they become allies? When my eyes landed back on Jackson, his lips curled up in that amazing smile that had me practically melting beside him. He reached across the seat and squeezed my hand; leaning and pressing a soft chaste kiss to my cheek. It didn’t stop my heart from pounding and my desire to kiss him from springing to life even though that was clearly not his intention.

            “Caleb is a gentle puppy compared to what Ben can dish out. You have no idea what we are walking into.” I bit my lip and swallowed down a million butterflies that took flight in my stomach at the thought of sharing a table with the two men that loved me so fiercely they no doubt were capable of coming to blows over it. 

            “I’m not afraid of your brother, Rookie. We’re cool. Let’s go inside and sit down with your family. I’ve earned it,” He moved to kiss me, this time softly on my lips and I felt myself grow warm under the heat of the innocent kiss,  “You’ve earned it.” His lips left mine for minute as he spoke but then quickly joined again. The scratchy feeling of his jaw against my soft skin sent shivers down my back that I know he didn’t miss.

            “Gesh you two. For fucks sake, are you trying to stir Ben up? Let the poor guy get used to you holding hands before he has to endure the sucking face.” Caleb joked, adding a few gags for our entertainment.

            “Ok, ok,” I say through giggles, but Jackson added a few more pecks and a sly swipe of his tongue before moving away from me. My cheeks were flush and I felt warm all the way to my core. As he jumped down from his seat and made his way around to open my door I fanned myself quickly, hoping to tone down the whole ‘guess who wants to jump their boyfriend’ look. I could tell immediately by Jackson’s face I hadn’t succeeded.

            I’d worn my jeans and a dressy button up shirt, but I pulled my hair back off of my face and only wore a small amount of make-up.  I knew this could get a little intense and I didn’t want to have make-up streaming down my cheeks. Jackson had also dressed up a bit for dinner. He wore a pair of dark, slim fitting jeans that hugged his firm butt and strong thighs. If they could sell sex in the department store, it would come dressed in those jeans. His snug fitting polo shirt hugged his chest in all the right places and I was beginning to wonder if perhaps we should have worked out our nerves a little back at my place before coming there. I watched him take me in as I slid from the high seat and knew just from the small curve of his lips and the hungry way he was looking at me that he was thinking the same thing. 

            His tattoo peeked out from under his sleeve as it stretched across his broad bicep and his hair was damp from a recent shower, secretly calling to me to run my fingers through it. Ok, maybe I should be more nervous about trying to keep my hands off of him at dinner than I was currently feeling about sitting down with him at the same table as the other important men in my life.  Caleb took off towards the house and left us a minute so that I could calm down. I think Jackson might have had other plans though.

            “You look a little wound up, Rookie,” he whispered in his raspy, low voice. “Maybe I should help you with that.” With his words, I felt my nerve endings heat and tingle all along my skin, begging for him to touch me. I wondered if I’d ever get past wanting him so badly.

            “Jackson, stop,” I whispered but it only made him chuckle and run his palm up my side, stopping just short of my breast.

            “For now.” He winked at me and then reached for my hand, tugging me along to the front door of my dad’s house.  I followed beside him, realizing that no matter what happened at dinner, the most important things was that I’d be leaving with him. 

            The table was set and Angelique, my father’s housekeeper had prepared a nice dinner. Ben had not arrived, but my other brother Brandon was already inside, wrestling playfully with Caleb in the living room as my dad tried in vain to get them to settle down. It felt like home. I smiled up at Jackson and took the lead, pulling him over to my father where they shook hands and even exchanged a small hug. I felt my shoulders relax and let go of Jackson’s hand so I could say hello to Angelique. 

            The sound of the screen door creaking open made my heart stop in my chest and then start again with a more rapid rhythm. It was Ben.  I could tell just in how the whole atmosphere in the room changed, growing thicker with tension. I turned around, and watched Jackson extend his hand to Ben and then I waited with baited breath to see what Ben would do. After a very tense moment, Ben’s lips curled up and he shook Jackson’s hand and pulled him into a hug with a few pats on the back.

            “Dinner is ready if you’d like me to serve it,” Angelique offered and my father nodded his head. We all made our way over to the table and Jackson pulled my chair out for me, something that is usually Ben’s job. The men chatted about business and of course about football as we ate our dinner. When his plate was empty, Jackson set his large palm across my knee under the table and gave me a small reassuring squeeze. My fear that this would all erupt into a complete Jerry Springer moment dissipated and my heart was filled with the overpowering feeling of relief.

            I’d been so stressed that the relief hit me hard. I cleared my throat, hoping to loosen the knot I felt tightening there, but when I wasn’t successful I excused myself from the table and headed to the bathroom. The men all stood as I left the table, a manner that I know isn’t typical in this day and age, but all of them had been raised to respect a lady. Jackson’s eyes met mine and I know he saw the shimmer of tears there but said nothing. From my hideout in the bathroom I heard the clang of the table being cleared and blew out in relief that I’d survived this first.

            I didn’t want to push our luck and was hoping Jackson and I could run off while everyone was still getting along and none of the hard questions had been asked. I was not that lucky. When I emerged from the bathroom, the men were sitting in the formal living room, sipping coffee and from the looks of it, grilling Jackson on his plans for our life together. I slipped into the chair beside him, ready to defend our life together and to tell my brothers and father to back off. 

            “So are you going to go pro?” Ben asked Jackson.

            “Yes. I am rumored to be the first round draft pick so we will see what comes of that.” He answered honestly, reaching over and taking my hand in his.

            “So is Madeline going to follow you around?” Ben followed up his previous question. I knew he had my best interest at hand, but it pissed me off. I was about to say something but Jackson just squeezed my hand.

            “No. I want more than that for your sister. Don’t get me wrong,” he said looking over to me and then back to my brother, “I want her with me more than anything, but we have our whole lives to be together. She has stuff she wants to do here and I respect that. I plan to fly her out on the weekends and breaks when she doesn’t have other obligations, school, business or family wise.”

            I watched Caleb chuckle a little, he always found these intense life talks so humorous. I wondered if he was thinking about the girl from the diner he’d been trying so hard to impress lately. Ben thought about Jackson’s response for a few seconds and then nodded his head. “And the wedding, when is that going to be? We don’t usually wait on these things. I can imagine you know that my sister has a certain reputation—“

            “Not your concern Ben,” my father scolded. “I’m sure these two are planning something soon anyway,” my father looked to us. It was more of a request than a simple statement.

            “Whenever she’ll have me I’m hers.” Jackson’s answer didn’t surprise me. When he’d proposed he told me we could wait as long as I wanted, but as talk about him being drafted got louder, he had been mentioning it more and more, wanting to make it final before he was sent anywhere new.

            I wanted to marry him just as badly. I had no doubts that he was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with so the wedding was just a formality as far as I was concerned. “I was thinking three months from now,” I answered and felt Jackson still beside me. I’d never given him a time frame and when I turned to see his face I saw the biggest smile I’d ever seen.

            “Three months,” he repeated and then lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles.

            The rest of the night had gone smoothly and by the time we pulled up in front of my apartment I was so relieved it almost felt like a live energy buzzing through my system. Jackson helped me from my seat, but didn’t step back, instead he pressed me up against the side of the car and lowered his lips to mine. It was hot and intense, so passionate I felt dizzy and intoxicated. I arched into him and he pressed himself against me. “Three months,” he whispered against my lips and I giggled at his excitement.

            My apartment was empty, a clear reminder that my best friend had moved out to live with her new husband. While I was often sad that she was gone, her absence had not gone wasted by Jackson and I. As soon as the door was locked behind us, Jackson’s hands were around my waist, urging me towards the bedroom as he rained kisses across my lips and down my neck. I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled him tight against me.

            His warm tongue licked a trail up my neck and then back down to my chest before we had reached the bed and he pushed me down on top of it. He kissed me harder then, claiming my mouth and owning my body as he pressed himself against my core, increasing the friction between our legs as I worked feverishly to tug his shirt over his head and unbutton his jeans. With one swift move, Jackson flipped us so that I was straddling him and his hands were unbuttoning my shirt as quickly as he possibly could with his large fingers. “Three months,” he said again, sucking my tongue into his mouth before abandoning the push and pull of releasing the buttons for one rough rip, causing buttons to fly across the room.

            His rough hand tugged at the cup of my bra and my heavy breast fell into his hand and then his hot mouth as he sucked my nipple into the warmth. I tipped my head back with the pleasure of it and rocked forward, dragging my core along his hard length. As his mouth worked my breast, he slid my top down my arms and unhooked my bra, quickly discarding it and encircling my other nipple with his tongue and mouth. Being with him was the best high, he always knew exactly what to do to make me feel amazing in just a few short minutes.

            His hands moved down and he unfastened my jeans, grabbing my hips and lifting me up so he could pull them from my body. I rested my core back down on him, only the thin black lace of my panties between my skin and his jeans. His own hands reached for his zipper, and he expertly removed them and his boxers in one movement, allowing his erection to spring free and rest against his stomach. When I lowered back down on top of him he bit his bottom lip and held his breath as I slide up his length and then back, tipping my hips to maximize the pressure and friction between us. His finger hooked into the waist of my panties and he tore them so quickly I almost missed it.

            “Three months,” he whispered again with a smile and I kissed his lips as the words fell from his mouth. “Just three months until you’re my wife, Rookie. Do you have any idea what that does to me?” As if to show me, his fingers dug into my hips and he pushed me down on top of him, lifting his hips as he moved me against him.

            Hearing how turned on he was with the idea of me being his, only fueled my own desire. I lifted slightly, hating that his hands at my hips lightened up to allow me to move freely. I wanted that passionate rough need I felt coming from him as he possessed me, dominated the movement of my body above him. As soon as I wrapped my hand around his hardness, his eyes seemed to grow black with desire and he tightened his hold on my hips again, locking me into a movement that slid me down onto him. He was firm and unmoving, stretching my inner walls and filling me up completely.

            I leaned forward when he was inside me as far as he could go and kissed his lips, loving the feel of his hand as it tangled into my hair and pulled my head back just enough for him to suck on my neck.  His other hand lifted me at my hip and then slammed me back down on top of him. We’d never had sex like this before, the intense raw need to completely consume each other. It was hot and exciting, quickly causing my body to build in a pleasure so intense I thought I would crumble and claw out of my own skin.

            I could hear the slap of our skin as we met again and again, with a punishing tempo as I rode him, only our breaths and moans giving away how connected we were. I felt my inner walls tightening, but it was almost too much. My breathing became short shallow breaths pushed from my lungs when he rolled his hips and pressed further inside.  

            “Jackson, Jackson,” I chanted over and over, trying hard to express that it was all too much. The thrill of being taken like this was pushing me towards the edge so hard and so fast, but he twisted my hair and pulled me to his mouth, the force of our mouths meeting causing a small bite to my lip and with that I exploded around him, unable to breathe or speak, feeling the waves of pleasure rolling through every inch of my body.

            “FUCK,” he shouted into my mouth as he lifted up and grabbed both of my hips, holding me closely to him as he chased my pleasure with his own. 

Thank you for reading!! If you haven't read my story TOUCH yet, it is available now on Amazon and Nook. Soon to be up on iBooks.  

http://amzn.com/B00Q5HFVRE

Touch

Leah’s dreams of a happy ever after with her college boyfriend came crashing down when he left her to pursue his graduate studies on the other side of the state, far away from the school she has chosen. She moves into her new apartment alone, still holding on to the hope that he will realize his mistake and come back to her. She may have a broken heart, but she still believes in love that lasts.

            Noah, Leah’s new neighbor, has spent the last three years studying the dissolution of couples for his doctoral thesis. He learned firsthand that love doesn’t always work out, and hopes to prove that touch is a predictor of success in relationships: when couples stop touching, they also stop loving. So far, his data supports his theory that it’s better to have a few nights of fun than to try to capture forever. 

When one of Noah’s assistants drops out of his dissertation project, Leah agrees to fill in. She and Noah do their best to ignore their growing attraction—after all, she doesn’t do casual sex and he doesn’t do long-term relationships—but when a flood in Leah’s apartment puts them under the same roof for several weeks, they find it harder and harder to resist the physical connection they crave. Will the clinical evidence from Noah’s study convince Leah to stop believing in fairytale endings or will Noah come around to the idea that love is worth taking a chance? Can the two of them beat the odds and build a foundation for forever with each tender touch?