I woke up early with small kisses to my shoulder.

"Mmm." It felt too good to articulate more.

"Can I fuck you now, Rebecca?" Killian's warm breath brushed across my ear.

"Yes, please."

And he did.

Twice.

I came out of the bathroom knowing we needed to begin our day, but his open arms were too inviting, so I crawled back in bed.

"Can we talk about what happened after my game?" Killian asked after he tucked me in close.

My body immediately stiffened. His fingers slowly smoothed over my skin until I relaxed.

"Something comes over me when things don't go right on the field. I know you don't want to hear excuses, but please listen?" He gave me time to object, but I didn't say anything. "Most of the women I'm with are only around for a few weeks at most. I've always just wanted someone to fuck with no emotional commitment. I've fucked women in the locker room after a loss. I've never driven them home or brought one back to my house. They meant very little to me, and as you know I'm not easy to be around when I fuck up in a game."

I controlled my breathing. He was right, I didn't want to hear this. "I don't want to feel the way I have the last few days. I would rather not see you on game day or after a loss."

"Come to my mother's house for dinner next Sunday, please?"

He wasn't giving me answers, but I had no fight left in me. He'd loved most of it out the night before and managed to fuck away all but a few lingering doubts this morning.

I didn't want to face his mother, but what could I do? "I'll come to dinner."

"And spend the weekend with me?"

"Yes, and spend the weekend with you."

Killian let out a long breath. "I need to get home and grab my stuff for practice."

"Okay." I tried to keep the sadness out of my voice, but it didn't fool him.

"May I spend the night tonight?"

"Yes." I gave him a sweet smile.

I watched him dress. His kiss before he walked out the door was much too brief. Sexually frustrated, I lay in bed for another ten minutes before I went for my run. It was later than I liked and heat rolled off the cement, but I needed my running high.

Killian spent the night Thursday then picked me up on Friday. It was his bye week and he acted more relaxed than he had since the season started.

"I want to take you out to dinner." His eyes traveled over my body like he hadn't seen it in weeks instead of hours.

My inner thighs ached and I clenched them tightly, noticing Killian's smile when I did it.

"Someday I'll cook for you, but yes, I'd love to go out."

We stopped at his house so he could change into something more formal and I could put on the other dress he bought me in Seattle. I looked in his closet and saw more than the dry-cleaned dress I already wore and the one I planned to wear tonight. All of them were there. Each dress I had tried on in Seattle.

"Killian."

His arms closed around me, his lips feathering kisses across my neck. "I love you and that means I can buy you things. Wear the one with the high slit on the side."

"I hate you."

"No, you love me."

"You cannot buy me things."

He turned me and tipped my chin up. His sexy dimpled grin made me dizzy. "Can too." The childish words were incredibly sexy with his deep voice. I fought my smile, but it escaped right before he kissed me.

I wore the indecent dress with the side slit and blushingly put up with Killian's roving hands the entire night.

It was the best weekend Killian and I had spent together. He was loving, fun, and just about fucked my brains out. But that was all before we went to his mother's.

She greeted us at the door of a beautiful house in a large, sprawling neighborhood in Glendale. Orange trees peppered her property and it seemed immensely cooler than the section of Phoenix where I lived. Not as much asphalt, I guessed.

This time she pulled me into her arms for a hug. "Thank you for forgiving my son. Maybe you should have held off another week. It would have served him right. Beat him over the head with a frying pan if he pulls his game-loss pouty behavior again."

Killian kissed his mother's cheek. "Thanks, Mom. I know I can always count on you."

She laughed and I saw her "Killian" dimples again. Or, I guess, Killian's were "Beth" dimples.

"Your brother knows you're coming and he's excited. Go visit while I talk to Rebecca."

Killian looked over his shoulder as he walked from the room. "Remember-Amanda? Shoe size?"

I blushed.

Killian laughed and continued down the hallway. I'd forgotten about his brother. I had no idea how old he was, but I guessed still young enough to live at home.

"Come on, dear. Ignore my son. I'm so glad you're here. I'm preparing dinner, if you don't mind keeping me company."

"Thank you, Mrs. MacGregor."

"Beth."

"Thank you, Beth."

The kitchen was enormous and just as lovely as the rest of the house.

"Killian picked this house out for me because of the kitchen. I'm sure you know by now that he can't boil water. Have you met, Marty?"

"No, he and I seem to miss each other."

I blushed again. I'd almost said I was only at Killian's on the weekends.

Beth didn't seem to notice. "I stopped going to Killian's games years ago. It was too hard to work out scheduling details when he played in college. Then after he went pro, too brutal. I can't handle seeing someone cause my son pain. You know tennis would have been the perfect sport for him."

I had to laugh.

"My son tells me you're a runner."

"Yes, ma'am. I run for the state team."

"With a scholarship and everything." She gave me a proud look that took me by surprise.

"Yes, I was lucky back in high school."

"I know that's a lie. Colleges don't give scholarships because of luck." She didn't let me argue. "So do you plan on staying in the valley after college?"

"Yes, my parents live here, and my sister."

"Oh, Killian didn't mention you have a sister."

I blushed again. Like I would explain how Killian and I met. Not! "Killian didn't tell me about his brother either," I said to change the subject.

The look on Beth's face changed and a bit of anger flashed in her eyes. "I'm sorry-you need to meet Michael, he'll be joining us for dinner. I'll have a few words with my son on the phone this week and clear up his future problems in regards to the subject of Michael."

I had no idea what I'd walked into, but it wasn't good.

"Come on and I'll make introductions. His nurse will be here this evening, but for now we're on our own."

I followed Beth as she walked with purposeful strides to the back of the house. I heard Killian's voice as we drew closer to the door.

Using a tone I'd never heard before, he said calmly, "You're going to love her, buddy. She's tall and beautiful-"

Killian looked at Beth and me when we walked in. My eyes went to the wheelchair where Killian's brother sat with a blanket on his lap. His small, thin hands curled unnaturally in front of him. His head was propped up by a brace at the top of the chair. His lips tilted downward. He watched Killian, but attempted to turn our way when Beth spoke. Killian stood, shifting the chair slightly.

"Michael, this is Rebecca, Killian's friend." Beth's voice was soft.

Michael made a small, inarticulate noise and I could do nothing but smile. At the same time my heart broke. This was Killian's brother and he'd never told me anything about him.

"I was just giving Michael the low down on my girlfriend and hadn't gotten around to the good parts yet."

"And you won't, Killian Allan MacGregor," Beth snapped, though she smiled at the same time.

"I wasn't going into full detail. I wanted to tell him about her blue eyes, long legs, and grouchy behavior when she's tired."

Killian loved his brother. It was so obvious, but I couldn't help feeling left out because he hadn't said a word about Michael.

"I'll finish cooking and leave you to become better acquainted." Beth walked out.

"Sit here, Rebecca, and I'll turn his chair so he can see us both."

I sat on the bed, Killian turned the chair, and Michael became animated.

"He wants you to hold his hand."

I leaned forward and put my fingers over Michael's. They were cold, but he stopped fidgeting as soon as I touched him. His lips tilted just slightly into what had to be a grin.

"I told you you'd like her, buddy."

"I like you, too, Michael." How could anyone not?

"I need to catch him up on my games."

Killian began a play-by-play of his last two games. The first was easy because he won, but I heard his voice tighten when he talked about his loss. The smile left Michael's face and he seemed to understand Killian's pain over losing.

"That son of a bitch sucker punched me in the pileup, but Blitz took him down on the next play."

Killian didn't leave anything out. He told about his good plays and the interceptions.

"Next week, we're out of town-"

Killian talked until his mother came in and told us dinner was ready. He pushed Michael's chair to the empty spot at the table. Michael wasn't fed; Beth explained he ate through a feeding tube.

"He likes to sit out here with us. He has two nurses that take revolving shifts, but Sundays they take off until the evening. It's nice when football is in off-season because Killian eats here on Sundays and helps me out."

Seeing Killian's family was eye opening. No one mentioned his father, but seeing the three of them together, I felt the love they shared. My emotions were a jumbled mess by the time we said goodbye.

Killian MacGregor had some explaining to do.