The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 146

Chapter 146

ZANE

We finally stood up.

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I adjusted my sweatpants, the fabric sticky and warm against my skin. I didn’t even care. The mess she’d made of me was worth every second.

Astra turned away from me, back to my chest, hands shaking as she tried to fix her nightgown. The moonlight poured through the tall kitchen windows like liquid silver, lighting her up like some kind of angel sent down just to destroy me

Her golden hair was messy, falling in soft waves down her back. She looked innocent and filthy at the same time.

My cock twitched again, already trying to get hard.

*Calm the fuck down, I told myself. *You just came like a teenager.*

But how could I calm down when she was standing there looking like that?

I stepped closer. She stiffened immediately, shoulders tensing like she could feel the predator behind her.

I didn’t stop.

My hands found her wide hips, palms spreading over the soft flesh. I rubbed slow circles, thumbs digging into it, pulling her back against me gently.

She shivered.

I leaned down, pressing my chest to her back, my nose brushing her hair as I looked at her face from the side.

Her cheeks were burning red, lips still swollen from my mouth, eyes wide and glassy.

I smiled against her ear as I spoke.

“If you keep looking like that, Star… I’m not going to blamed for bending you over this counter and eating you out until you’re crying my name and soaking the floor.”

She made a cute little choked sound, face turning even redder.

“Zane!”

I chuckled darkly, nipping her earlobe.

“What? I’m just being honest.” My hands squeezed her hips tighter. “You look like a fucking angel. My angel. And I want to ruin you on every surface in this house.”

She tried to pull away, but I held her right where I wanted her.

I held her there a moment longer, nose buried in her hair, breathing her in like I could keep her locked inside my lungs.

Then I forced myself to let go.

My arms dropped to my sides. I took one step back, giving her space.

Astra didn’t waste a second. She spun around and rushed toward the stairs like the devil was on her heels, nightgown fluttering around her thick thighs. She nearly stumbled on the first step, catching herself on the railing.

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Chapter 146

“Careful, Trouble,” I called after her, voice low and amused.

She ignored me completely, disappearing up the stairs without a backward glance.

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I stayed in the dark kitchen, listening to her footsteps fade. The house was silent again except for the low hum of the fridge and my own heartbeat.

I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling slowly.

She’s burrowing deeper than I planned.

Not in the romantic way people pretend. Not some soft, inevitable fall.

No.

She was burrowing like a parasite I didn’t want to remove, making me crave things I’d never needed before.

I wanted the way she looked at me when she was scared and turned on at the same time. The way she argued with me even when her thighs were shaking.

I wanted all of it.

And I hated how much space she was taking up in my head.

I wasn’t supposed to need anyone.

Especially not her, the girl I used to shove into lockers just to watch that fire spark in her eyes.

Now I couldn’t stop thinking about how soft she felt and how sweet she tasted.

I smirked to myself in the dark, adjusting my sticky sweatpants again.

Worth it.

Then a voice sliced through the silence behind me.

“Having trouble sleeping?”

Every muscle in my body locked. For a beat, I didn’t breathe.

Slowly, I turned.

Landon stood framed in the kitchen doorway, one hand curled around a glass of water, the other tucked into the pocket of his sweatpants. The dim light carved shadows across his face, making his expression even harder to read than usual.

Neither of us spoke.

My gaze flicked toward the staircase before I could stop it.

He noticed. Of course he noticed.

A muscle jumped in my jaw. “How long have you been standing there?”

Landon took a slow sip of water, eyes never leaving mine. “Long enough.”

The silence that crashed between us felt thick enough to choke on.

Heat crawled up my neck, but it wasn’t embarrassment burning through me. It was something darker.

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11:46 Fri, Jul 17

Chapter 146

The thought of him seeing her, my* Astra-half-dressed made my fists curl inside my pockets.

“You saw her.” My voice came out low, almost a growl.

His gaze sharpened. “I saw enough.”

A cold knot twisted behind my ribs. “You shouldn’t have.”

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“No?” Landon’s tone stayed dangerously calm as he set the empty glass on the island with a soft clink. “Last I checked, this was still my kitchen.”

We stared at each other across the dim space.

Finally, he broke the standoff. “I warned you.”

“I told you to leave that girl alone.”

My lips curved into a cold, mocking smile.

“And what made you think I’d listen to you?”

I shoved both hands deeper into my pockets, shoulders tight.

Landon exhaled, the sound heavy in the quiet kitchen. “You’re becoming reckless, Zane.”

“I’m in control.”

His eyebrows lifted just enough to call me a liar without saying a word. “No. You only think you are.”

Another silence stretched between us, heavier than the last.

Then he asked, voice low, “What are your intentions with her?”

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