The next day, an article appears in the Fargo Pioneer.

I skim it with some vague interest before going back and reading it over twice. I stare at Brynn’s name on the top, a little smile on my face.

“Oh, shit,” I whisper to myself as I eat my breakfast in the team cafeteria. “Oh, fucking shit.”

It doesn’t take long for Coach to call me back to his office. I feel like a little kid heading into the principal’s office or something, like he’s about to suspend me from school for a month.

He’s not going to do that, of course. I’m still his QB after all. I mean, how bad can it get for me? It’s not like he’s going to fire his winning QB before the second game of the season.

Or maybe he will. Coach is known for some seriously harsh moves.

I take a breath to steady myself before knocking on his door. I step inside and shut it behind me.

Coach Wood is sitting behind his desk, holding the paper in his hand. He’s not even going to pretend that I’m here for any other reason, I guess.

“Explain this shit,” he snaps.

“I’m sorry,” I say, almost as a reflex.

He shakes his head. “I don’t care. Explain.”

I sigh and sit down in the chair in front of his desk. “She wanted an exclusive, so I gave her one.”

“Jesus, Sean. You basically admit that you’re playing with pain every game. Do you have any clue how much shit we’re going to get for this?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know.”

“We’re already gotten fifty calls about the article and more are coming in every fucking second. The press is going insane. What were you thinking?”

“I guess I wasn’t, sir.”

“I didn’t even know you were in pain.” He glares at me. “My wife isn’t doing good enough anymore?”

“Leah is doing great,” I say quickly. “It’s just… you know, it’s not perfect.”

“Fuck, Sean,” he says softly. “Look, if you need more time to heal, tell me now.”

“No,” I say quickly. “I’m good, Coach.”

“Are you? We want to win, and that’s all I care about. If you can get it done, fine, whatever, play through the pain. But if not…” He trails off, eyebrows raised.

“I’ll get it done,” I say, meeting his gaze.

“Fine. Get it done.” He shakes his head. “Fucking hell, Sean. I know she’s cute, but don’t be stupid next time.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re dismissed. Get out there.”

I nod and quickly stand up.

That fucking article talks about how I play with pain every day, how I’m doing rehab but nothing’s working, but I’m afraid the next hit will be my last. It’s not a good article, not at all. It’s not the sort of thing you want out there.

And it’s all a lie, of course.

I didn’t tell her any of that. She doesn’t have a single real quote from me anywhere in that whole trash pit article.

I’m grinning as I go through the day.

I should be livid. This is going to haunt the rest of my career. Now guys are going to try and hit me harder, try to be the one that takes me out. There’s a certain feeling among defenses in the NFL, a belief that injuring an opposing team’s QB isn’t just part of the game, but something you should actively go after whenever you can.

Now they’re going to smell fucking weakness.

God damn it. Fucking Brynn.

And she knows I won’t say shit. If anything, I deserve this. It’s payback for that shit with Felix.

But that kiss…

I keep thinking about that kiss. As much as she says she hates me, I know it’s not true. She’s pissed about that Felix thing, of course, but she doesn’t hate me.

She fucking wants me. I know it, I can see it in her eyes. She wants me every time I go near her. I drive her fucking insane. As much as she wants to pretend like I don’t, I know she can’t keep her hands off me.

That kiss proved it. She kissed me back right away, no hesitation, no issues. She didn’t push me away, tell me to fuck off. She kissed me back like I was the first man that ever touched her like that.

Fucking hell.

I go through my day like usual. I do the team meeting, lift with the other guys, and basically act like everything’s normal. I figure most of my teammates haven’t read the article, since a lot of them don’t bother reading the Pioneer.

Not that I can blame them. Most of these guys are more worried about national coverage.

Finally, the field practice breaks up, and the stampede starts. My heart beats fast as the reporters come walking out onto the field. Guys break up like usual, and I weave my way through the clumps of people, searching for Brynn.

She’s leaning up against the far wall, looking out at the field. I smirk as I approach her and she smiles back.

“Hey there,” she says. “Did you read my article?”

“Sure did. My coach read it too.”

She laughs. “I bet Wood didn’t like that.”

“No, he did not.”

“It’s a shame your arm’s hurting so much. Otherwise, I bet you’d toss me out of here.”

I grin and shake my head. “Why would I do that?”

She shrugs innocently. “Who knows. But I guess now we’re even.”

I arch an eyebrow. “Even?”

“For that bullshit you told people.”

I snort. “I told you. That was a misunderstanding. This was…”

“Also a misunderstanding?” She smiles innocently.

I sigh. “Not exactly. More like a hit piece.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“It’s okay though. I don’t mind.”

“Oh, you don’t? Good, I’m so relieved.”

“I love it when you act like you don’t give a shit. Although that kiss last night tells me otherwise.”

Her cheeks go slightly red and her smile falters. “That was—”

“Really good, I know. You’re still dreaming about it. I bet you had your hand between your legs last night just picturing what else I could do to that pretty little body of yours.”

“Sean!” she says, eyes a little wide.

“What?” I step closer. “Afraid someone might hear? I know some spots we could go right now where nobody will bother us. You can moan as loudly as you want.”

“Asshole. I’m not interested.”

“Liar. You’re interested enough to write that article.”

“That was just revenge. You didn’t give me anything useful, so I just—”

“Made shit up?” I shrug. “Fine, whatever. Make shit up. I don’t care. But don’t lie to me like you’re lying to everyone else.”

“Lie how?”

“About how badly you want to taste my cock after I’ve fucked your tight little asshole.”

Her eyes go wide and for a second, I think she might kiss me again.

Instead, she slaps my arm.

Not hard enough to hurt. But enough that I notice. She glares at me, and I know she wants to hit my face, but she can’t. If she did, everyone would see. Hitting my arm was risky enough.

“Before you storm off, listen.”

She’s livid, crimson with anger. “Fuck you.”

“Meet with me again. I’ll give you real insider info. That’s what you need, right?”

She hesitates. “My whole office is talking about you right now,” she whispers, her voice harsh. “And they’re talking about the rumor. Do you know how embarrassing it is? Everyone thinks I fucked you for that info.”

“Good. Let them. They’ll probably think you did some pretty disgusting, twisted shit for what I tell you next.”

“Fuck you. Not interested.”

“They’ll think you let me fuck your pussy from behind while I push a nice wide vibrator up your asshole at the same time. Or maybe that you let me come down your throat over and over again. Or that you get down on all fours and beg for me to fuck your tight little pussy rough enough to make you scream.”

The fury is so clear on her face and in her body language that I wonder if anyone else in this whole stadium can’t tell she’s livid with me right now.

But what they can’t see is that other little detail running through everything right now.

It’s passion. It’s desire. It’s her breath coming in fast, the way her eyes dart over my body, the way she bites her lip. She wants to slap me, but she also wants to taste my fucking cock. I bet she’ll gladly swallow my cum and beg me for more.

“Fine,” she finally manages to say. “But if you keep talking like that, I swear, I’ll hit you for real.”

“Good,” I say softly, smirking. “I think I’d like that.”

She glares at me for a second longer.

“Sean!” I hear my name barked over the general din of the other reporters. “Get your ass over here!”

It’s Coach Wood. I look over my shoulder at him and nod.

“Better run,” Brynn says, still pretty pissed.

“Meet me outside the facility tonight at ten.”

“Here?” she asks, surprised.

“Ten. Out front.”

I turn and walk away.

I know Coach is going to be pissed that I’m talking with her, but I don’t care. I can’t seem to give a crap right now.

All that matters to me is that Brynn is going to show up tonight. I know it, deep down inside. She could probably keep writing fake articles, and I’d let her get away with it.

But she doesn’t want to do that. She wants to pay for her stories.

Hell, she wants to just pay, over and over again. She pretends like I’m shocking her, pissing her off, whatever.

But I can see through that bullshit.

She’s aching for my cock.

And I’m not the kind of man to disappoint a lady.

I join Coach and fall into an interview with ESPN, trying to ignore the excitement pulsing through my body.