Goldilocks: A Man, a Jersey, and a Tight End by A. M. Riley Read Free Book Online

sorry,” he blurted finally. “I should have called you right away. But I was drunk.”
    Jim set down one of Scott’s feet and picked up the other. “You were drunk,” he stated.
    “I stopped at a bar and had a few beers.” Scott hated how his voice could go all whiny like that before he’d even noticed.
    Jim nodded. Set down Scott’s foot and looked at him. “Reasonable, responsible thing to do.”
    Scott ducked his chin, trying to escape that calm, steady gaze. He tried to find something to look at besides the man calmly staring him down. “I don’t know why I did it.” He could admit that.
    “You don’t?”
    Damn it . Jim wasn’t cutting him any slack. Like Jim never found himself just doing something for the hell of it.
    “Couldn’t get the edge off,” Scott admitted. “Thought a beer might help.”
    “A beer and a fight.”
    Scott scowled. Perceptive son of a bitch . Wasn’t marijuana supposed to make you dopey and mellow?
    “Yes,” said Scott. “Beer and a fight. Sometimes a man’s just gotta…”
    “No, you don’t,” said Jim.
    Scott folded his arms, and his legs twitched.
    Jim sighed. “Roll over, baby,” he said, standing.
    Scott whined. “Jiiiiimmm.” But when Jim bent to help him, Scott rolled over and stretched his arms out, grasping the headboard with both hands.
    He shook his head hard to Jim’s gentle, “Do I need to bind you?”
    “Just get it over with,” said Scott, breathing hard.
    Jim slid his boxers down and soothingly rubbed his butt. “You never fight unless there’s something bigger you want to avoid,” he said. “Don’t you want to tell me about it, Scott?”
    “Quit playin’ shrink and just do it,” said Scott, turning his head away so Jim couldn’t see his face.
    Scott had barely laid his cheek to the cool sheet when the first sharp slap came right across the muscled part of his butt. It was followed by three more hard swats. The last one made him jump.
    Scott was heavily muscled, but the nerves on his rear end were as sensitive as any man’s, and Jim knew just how and where to land each spank for maximum sting and burn. Scott didn’t cry out, but his whole body jerked against the mattress, his hips trying to escape as the fire spread across his ass and upper thighs.
    His mouth opened so he could draw in huge breaths, hands clenching and forearms straining, legs jumping against the mattress. Finally, Jim stopped.
    Scott pressed his face to the mattress. Hands reached up and turned and gathered him, and he was folded up in a big lap, hands stroking his head and a prickly warm beard brushing against his face.
    “I’m sorry.” Scott couldn’t stop himself from shaking. “I was so fucking nervous.”
    “What about?”
    “You. Us. It’s been over a month. I…I mean, what if you weren’t here when I got home?”
    Jim stopped his rhythmic petting. “What if I wasn’t here?”
    “You’ve done it before,” said Scott, his voice bitter. “Left.”
    “Ah,” was all Jim said. “I thought we settled all that a long time ago.” He turned Scott’s head so that he could pet the man’s face and gaze into his eyes. “Don’t you?”
    “Paul leaves. Doesn’t matter. Why shouldn’t you?”
    “I’m not Paul.”
    Scott stuck out his lip, but he couldn’t hold the pout when Jim touched his mouth and kissed him. Once on the head, once on the nose, and then once, thoroughly, on the mouth.
    “How’s your behind?”
    “You’re a bastard,” said Scott. “But you know that. I’ll be okay.”
    “Think you’ll be able to watch your football game?”
    “Maybe,” sniffed Scott. “I might need a little more attention. You might’ve been getting some all these weeks, but I’ve been lonely out there on the road.”
    Jim stroked Scott’s shoulders thoughtfully, his hands gentle and slow. “You’re talking about Brian, right? I’ve been ‘getting some’ with Brian.”
    “Well, sure,” said Scott. And he stroked his wrists to remind himself