It’s early. The sun is barely peeking over the horizon. The quiet streets of Boise are sound asleep. I pull the Range Rover into the dirt parking lot and see Justice is waiting outside of her car. She dressed in black from head to toe, hip leaning against the door with her arms folded over her chest pushing up her luscious breasts. Her blonde hair is piled in a messy bun on top of her head, and the final nail in my coffin is the smile she gives me when I begin my long, fast-paced strides to get to her.

Everything about her screamed out at me the other night. Justice felt damaged, broken, and bruised. She’s been struggling through the motions in life, like me. Going through life alone until time slaps you in the face. We’ve both moved through life without living, but today we are about to live again.

We’ve kept our distance the last two days, both going on about our own business. The truth is, we both have a lot of responsibility weighing down on us and can’t lose sight of what brought us back together.

Everything with the team has been seamless so far. Coach Wiley is one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. He’s taken a group of men from various teams and abilities, and created a family environment where everyone has the utmost respect for one another. We’ve become a band of brothers in a short time, and that’s no easy feat to accomplish.

The Idaho Diamonds have top-notch people on every level, and it’s all because of the blonde bombshell I’m walking toward.

The closer I get to her, the tighter my grip gets around the piping hot coffees in my hands. Jesus, she is absolutely stunning. I’d love nothing more than to ignite her flame and set her soaring. Damn.

“Americano.” I raise my eyebrow and extend the coffee in her direction. “Wasn’t sure if it was still your favorite.”

“It is,” she answers and reaches out for her cup. Our fingers brush for the briefest of seconds, making me rock hard in my shorts. I step back and try to act natural about the bulge ready to aim and fire.

“Thank you for the coffee. It became my favorite when you’d let me sleep in and then surprise me by jogging down to Starbucks.”

Fuck me. My dick is going to be aching by the end of this little journey. Especially when he along with me remembers her sultry, deep morning voice.

“There isn’t a Starbucks close to my house, but if sleeping in is what you want, then plan on me staying in bed with you. You’re so damn fucking sexy right now,” I whisper and watch in anticipation as she tilts her head and takes two steps toward me.

I grab her by the hip, tugging her to me until our fronts are pressed together. I take her coffee, set in on the hood of her car, and place my coffee next to hers.

This is new for us. I want to take it slow, have to take it slow, so we don’t end up like last time. The thing is, I can’t.

She leans up onto her tiptoes and kisses me on my cheek. “There’s a Starbucks close to mine. Never mind that, what makes you think I’ll be spending the night at your place?”

I dig my fingers into her hips, lowering my head and hovering my lips above hers. I dart my tongue out, running it across my lips before sealing the answer.

“I don’t care where we stay as long as I wake up next to you; and you have always been sexy to me, but fresh-faced, smiling Justice is sexy as fucking hell.” I move to her neck trailing my tongue up her neck and stop right below her ear. “Especially after I’ve just fucked her.”

Her breath kicks up, and for a few seconds, it’s as if both of us are too scared to feel again. We don’t move.

Her breathing isn’t hard and brutal and filled with fury. Mine isn’t filled with rage. And fuck me if that doesn’t feel good.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” This time, I want to memorize the feel of her lips against mine. If I have a say, I will never go a day without kissing her ever again.

My free hand goes to the back of her neck, pulling her closer to me, and when she grinds herself into me, fueling me on, I devour her.

Our tongues tango in a slow dance, and my hands go directly to her peach-shaped ass. I bite down gently on her bottom lip before going crazy in her mouth. I lick every part of her, bringing her sweet taste to life.

I need to stop before I strip her down. Because if we keep this up, it will be about three more seconds before I have her in my backseat naked and pounding into her sweet little pussy. I want her so goddamn bad that my dick is on fire. No blue balls happening today. They are red from being irritated and inflamed.

We don’t take our eyes off each other as I break the kiss and reach around her to grab our coffees, my arm lightly brushing across her breast.

I bring my coffee cup to my lips and take a drink, burning my mouth and the back of my throat at the same time. It’s the only barrier keeping me from ravishing her mouth again.

“You taste good, Blake. So, what is this place?” Smart diversion, Justice. However, I know she’s as turned on as I am. Those pebbled nipples of hers are crying out to graze my tongue.

She peers around to the vast wilderness. I need to touch her, so I grab her hand and begin walking us up the dirt trail.

My running back, Elliott Turner, brought me up here the first week I moved to Boise. The man is a beast and trains like no one I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been an athlete my entire life. Getting a good workout is vital to me keeping in shape. If I didn’t, I’d be a dead man on the field. One knock to my body, and I’d be out for good.

“Table Rock. Turner introduced me to it.” I motion to a flat rock for us to sit on. “Finish your coffee, and then we are going to torture ourselves.”

She quirks an eyebrow, peeking up at me from her sitting position.

“I know you love to run, so figured we’d do it together this morning, and let me tell you, it’s an ass kicker.”

Justice peers up the mountainside and then shudders. “Okay, I’m ignoring that for now while I enjoy this amazing coffee.”

I settle in next to her, our legs brushing against each other. We sit in silence for a long time watching the sky become a vibrant blue. Justice is the first to break it.

“I love this. I love being with you again and not fighting. We need to be extra careful with the media. I don’t want any of the attention on us to interrupt the attention the Diamonds deserve.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” I take the final drink of the coffee and then crumble the cup in my hand.

“It’s going to be damn near impossible.” Justice nibbles on her bottom lip.

“I’m good with doing it until the roots start to grow. After that I’m not hiding. We don’t owe anyone anything, Justice.” I lean back on the flat rock until I’m staring up at the sky. My hand goes to the middle of her back on autopilot. “Neither of us is going to have very much free time. Once the preseason kicks off, it’s going to be a whirlwind.”

“Like we just find common ground, and now we have no time?”

“Pretty much, Blondie.”

This gets her attention. She zeroes her vision in on me. “No, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did.”

“I hated that nickname.”

“And I love it.”

Her playful tone disappears; an emotion I can’t place shadows her features. She’s really chewing on her bottom lip now. I sit up and use my thumb to pull it free.

“Say it.” I sweep her bangs out of her face. “It’s the only way this will work. Never hold anything back.”

It takes her a few moments before she speaks up. “I want to be the only blondie in your life. I mean, I know we aren't dating, and I have no right. I just think it would be best if we weren’t seeing other people. It sounds childish to bring it up, but after the press conference, they will be watching us, and I’ve had enough negative gossip to last me a lifetime already.” I’m sure she has. I’m not going to get into it with her in regards to her family. Not unless something bad was ever to happen. Which I doubt it will. Can’t see her family ever letting her out of their sight if they thought something would happen to her. I supposed there’s always a chance, but it’s one I’m willing to take.

I shut her up with a quick kiss while mumbling against her lips. “You are the only woman, and if that stuttering was your roundabout way of telling me we should be exclusive, then I agree, and same goes for you on your end.” I thought she might have caught on to that a few minutes ago when I pretty much told her I wanted her waking up with me, but if reassurance is what she needs, then I’ll give it to her all morning.

“Man, I made that all sorts of awkward.” She laughs at herself.

“It shouldn’t be. We have to talk about things. We can’t allow pent-up anxiety or stress to take us down.”

Another question is coming. I can see it in the way she fiddles with her empty coffee cup, tearing and peeling at the edges. I’ll give her time. I can’t always be prodding her on. It’s going to take effort on both of our parts.

“How many since me?”

I know right where this question is going.

“How many what?”

“Liam.” She slaps my bicep.

I shrug. “Football games, championships, teams, or what are you referring to, baby?”

“Women, girlfriends, long-term relationships. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

I lean into her until my lips brush the shell of her ear. “I’ll answer since you finally got to the damn point. Then we leave our pasts alone. Long-term relationships, zero. Girlfriends, zero. Women, more than I care to admit. Not going to say they didn’t matter because that’s not the type of man I am. As far as having feelings for them, I didn’t. Not when you still had a grip on them. Now, your turn.”

She plays my little game, making me ask what I want to hear. I’m a jealous bastard and not sure I want to know. Don’t need this peaceful morning erupting with one of my signature fucking tempers.

“Long-term boyfriends, zero. Boyfriends…” She tilts her head to the side, deep in thought. “Do stalkers count? I mean, it was one blind date back in New York, and the man turned out to be a stage-three clinger.”

“Get on with it.” I squeeze her thigh.

“So, besides Creeper McCreeperston, it would be a zero. And a handful of men.”

I swallow down the jealousy. I have no right to be and plan to take it out on the mountain we are about to run up. I kiss her temple, stand, and grab her hand.

“This here is God’s country. The view is a hell of a lot better than smog, fog, and skyscrapers. Trust me on that.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Her eyes rake up and down my body. Fuck me.

Instead of tossing her over my shoulder and slapping her sweet ass while I march us back to our vehicles and demand she follows me home, I begin stretching and can’t help but pause when she leans forward, spreads her legs, and her ponytail flips with her. Shit, my hands twitch, curl into fists, and beg to touch her smooth skin. I’d love nothing more than to be waking up with her at my house, pulling her down in the grass by her hair while we run through the trails on my land, and placing my head between those legs.

“You ready to show me what you got?”

When she lifts her head, I expect a smartass response. What I don’t expect is a sincere, stunning smile that brightens up her face like the sun and makes my cock ache. I really don’t think she has any idea how much every part of her affects me.

“I’m ready to run, then go home and shower and get ready for the day, Liam Blake. I have a meeting in a few hours.” She lifts her hand, runs it across the small scar on my shoulder. “I know you’ve had this rubbed down several times, and you’ve been cleared, but does it feel okay? No flares-ups, no pain?” The smile leaves her face and a frown forms on her forehead.

“I’m good, never felt better. I would think a smart woman like you would know this,” I tease.

“Oh, I do know. I care and keep tabs on all my players. I’m just a little partial to a certain one. Seriously, though. We’ve never talked about your injury.”

No, we haven’t, and I’m not about to talk about it today either.

“I’m really okay. I promise I’ve never felt better. Let's go, or you’ll be late.”

We take off running at a slow, steady pace. I slow my stride to match hers. The farther we go, the more sweat starts to pour down our bodies. Both of us pushing ourselves to the breaking point, which since my injury has become my addiction. My mind goes numb, and everything quiets when my muscles are screaming. The steady beat and rhythm of my heart the anthem of choice. And now, with Justice by my side, it’s a sweet addiction.