Committed to You (19 page)

Jay dove deep into the water with me, and we got consumed by the ocean together.

We swam away from the beach. Our hands found each other. Our fingers intermingled as we used our free hands to move us forward. Linked as one unit, we continued to travel through the ocean. Bubbles and scattered sand skittered along our flesh. Stars and moonlight danced on the water’s surface. Every now and then we came up for air. No words left our lips, just wide smiles and giggles as we inhaled bigger breaths and sank back into the water. Even though we continued to swim away from the shoreline, the water never became too deep. My feet could still touch the ocean floor without my nose being under water.

Jay drew me to him. My body moved through the cool water with ease and met his hard chest. He held me to him and positioned himself to stand up. “Thanks for doing this.”

“No problem.” I straddled his waist. His hardness greeted the area between my legs and nudged at my wet panties. “No, Jay.”

He frowned. “I didn’t ask a question.”

“You have an erection.”

“That’s not fair. You’re wet with only a few bits of clothing. I’m being a good boy.”

“Just make sure you continue to.”

“Or what?” He wrapped his huge hands around my ass and squeezed. My core heated. I did my best to keep the arousal off of my face. I didn’t think I was doing a good job as a tiny moan fled from my mouth.

“What are you going to do if I’m not a good boy?” he asked.

“Put you on time out.”

He rubbed his thick erection between my thighs. “What happens on time out?”

I groaned. “You sit in a corner by yourself.”

He slipped his fingers inside the back of my panties and squeezed my soft behind more. “Do I get to touch myself while I’m sitting there?”

“You’re so naughty.”

He kissed me, just a small peck, but it made me yearn for more. I climbed out of his arms. God, it had been difficult to stop, but I did it. I pushed away his fingers and readjusted my panties. “Okay. I’m exhausted. Let’s head back.”

Jay’s grumbling sounded behind me. I didn’t take the time to deal with Jay and his very hard dick. I got myself out of there, swam as fast as I could back without holding his hand or gliding my fingers across his.

Good job, Evie. Get away from his cock before you find yourself riding it.

“Evie!” Jay called back behind me, as he splashed my way. “Let’s swim some more.”

“No way. We’ve swam enough.”

“We barely did ten minutes.”

“Yeah. We’re barely together for ten minutes, and you’re sliding your dick along my leg.”

He didn’t say anything, which told me even more than I wanted to know. Jay’s whole plan to get me in the water had been to get in my panties, as I’d suspected. And I couldn’t lie, I craved him too. Part of me, the most wicked part, hoped he would try to fuck me out in the ocean. The rest of me wished for a friendly swim.

I got to the shoreline with no problem. That should’ve been the end of the night. The only difficulty was that our clothes were no longer where we left them.

“Um Jay.”

“What’s up?” He rose from the water like a freaking sports model at a photo shoot. I almost gut-punched him for being so gorgeous. “Evie, what’s wrong, baby?”

“Our clothes are gone.”

He checked where I stood and shook his head, taking the time to look farther down as if maybe we’d simply forgotten where we placed out stuff. I searched with him. With everything so hidden by the night, it was almost impossible to see anything but dark sand.

“You think someone could have taken them?” I asked after we had jogged for several feet in different directions and then came back to our meeting spot with no clothes.

“They probably did. Pipe and I stole many lovers’ clothes on the beach when we were kids hanging out at night. We certainly are deserving of that karma.”

“That’s so not fair. I didn’t steal clothes.”

“Well, you’re guilty by association.” Jay shrugged and grabbed my hand. “Let’s just go back to the hotel.”

“Naked.”

“We’re half-naked and there could be an argument that these are simply our bathing suits. As long as you don’t act weird no one will say anything.”

I checked my soaked panties. “Let’s just hope no one is in the lobby.”

“Yeah.” He stared at my panties too. “I’m not going to be too happy if a bunch of guys get a look at you right now. I’ve already had to deal with enough tonight.”

“Awww, poor Jay. The Heisman Pimp had to learn how to share.”

Before I could say anything else, he picked me up and carried me in his arms. “I’ve really had a rough night.”

I leaned my head against his chest. “Really?”

“Yes, your mom threatened me several times.”

I closed my eyes and did my best to stifle several giggles. “Did she tell you that your name is on her bullets?”

“Yes. Was it a bluff?”

“Nope.”

“I didn’t think so.” He cleared his throat and moved us forward. “She told me to stay away from you.”

I tensed. “What did you say?”

“I told her I couldn’t.”

I shook my head. “You’re so in trouble with her.”

“I know. She told me I had to prove myself. Do you know how difficult a year I’ll have now?”

“You won the Heisman. People are going to be surrounding you from here until the moment you sign an NFL contract. Stop whining.”

“Will you be there too?” he asked.

“Yes. I’ll be there as your friend, like I’m always there.”

It was his turn to tense. His chest muscles hardened and made him uncomfortable to lean on.

“You’ll be invited to parties by stars. I doubt you’ll really be worried about where I am,” I said.

“Trust me. I’ll be worried.”

“You’ll be a success. Fuck it. You are a success.”

He stopped walking and lifted my chin. I opened my eyes and gazed up at him.

“I thought you knew me,” he whispered.

“I do.”

“What’s the most important thing in my life, after my grandparents?”

“Football.”

“No.”

I bit my lip. “Then what?”

“You, then Pipe, my college degree, and then football.”

My heart beat faster.

Don’t listen. Don’t fall back into his love. Don’t …

I forced a smile. “Pipe would be very unhappy to hear that he is ranked after me.”

“Pipe knows you’re before him. Cyn knew you were well above her. Your mom confessed that she figured I had a serious crush with you when we were kids. My grandparents left ridiculous voice mail messages telling me to be good to you and not break your heart. How could you not know you were more important to me than football and everything else?”

I closed my eyes and returned to leaning on his chest. There was nothing I could say, nothing more that could be discussed. He’d broken my heart, period. It needed to heal, and time, according to my mother, was the best way to heal old wounds.

It didn’t matter where I stood in his heart. I had to move the fog of his intoxicating love out of my head. What mattered were my feelings, and for now, my heart said no to reuniting with Jay.

Evie fell asleep in my arms. If I’d thought my dick had been stiff and unyielding before, I had no idea how it would be with her warm flesh against mine.

This shit is stupid. We should be together, not two buddies hanging out.

Evie still in my hold, I made it through the hotel lobby with no problem. Only one bored clerk sat at the desk, texting into her iPhone. I considered stopping there and asking for Evie or my keycard, but my erection wouldn’t calm down. Anyone could see my dick pushing against my boxer brief’s fabric, if they just looked my way.

I’ll ask Pipe to get the keys.

It took no time on the elevator. Although Cyn, Evie, and my rooms were on eight, we stopped at the twelfth floor. Only Pipe and two other long term guests lived on this level. For the top luxury accommodations, the managers made sure the big spenders had as much privacy as they desired, which was why Pipe kept his door ajar.

The other two residents were good friends of his, an old elderly couple who had gotten rich off of some special tea cakes made with brie. Pipe claimed they yelled for him throughout the night so that he could help them in compromising situations they didn’t want the staff to free them of. I wasn’t sure if Pipe’s stories were true or not. Apparently the poor couple had trapped themselves in a BDSM swing—the old man’s ankle stuck between the rope and his wife’s wrinkling rear propped up in the air with straps. Like some twisted superhero, Pipe released them and explained the proper use of the adult swings. Who knew if he was telling the truth or not? I’d never caught him in a lie, but some of his stories are just too hilarious to be true.

Dim ceiling lamps served as the hallway’s lighting and gave the whole area a very sensual, but mysterious, edge. Tonight there was no sound from his neighbors or even any music drifting from Pipe’s open doorway. Usually, Pipe kept his door cracked a little. Tonight, it was wide open.

I wish he would stop doing that. Anybody could just walk in.

I paused in the center of the hallway when I realized that Pipe had turned off all the lights in his suite too. Since Pipe was afraid of the dark, I immediately felt tinge in my gut that something odd had occurred. If he’d been in his room, all of the lights would be on, unless something major had happened.

He was pretty messed up tonight. Maybe he just stumbled into his spot and passed out.

Still, an unrelenting anxiety tugged at the back of my mind. I nudged Evie and whispered, “Wake up, baby.”

Groaning, Evie took forever to open those beautiful eyes. “Are we back in the room?”

“Not yet. I just have to get the keys from Pipe.”

Yawning, she climbed out of my arms. “Why is it so dark in his suite?”

“That’s why I woke you up. It caught me off guard.”

She rubbed her eyes. “Maybe he’s over his fear of the dark.”

“Maybe,” I muttered and placed her behind me as I headed to the doorway. The metallic scent of blood hit me first. Not many people got how violent football was, but I did, so much that I had an intimate relationship with blood and its fragrance. I also smelled something chemical like rubbing alcohol.

What the hell, Pipe?

“Stay here.”

“Why?” Hardheaded as ever, she continued to trail behind me. “What’s wrong?”

“I smell blood.”

She sniffed. “I don’t smell anything.”

“Just stay there.” I entered the suite and rubbed my fingers against the wall as I searched for the light switch. Still, Evie stepped in right with me. Movement sounded in front of us. I seized Evie’s arm and put her behind me. “Hello? Pipe?”

Chains rattled. Mumbled grunts came next.

Fuck, Pipe. What are you doing? The night has been too long for this bull shit.

I found the switch and flipped it on. What I saw froze me in my spot and shook every peaceful cell in my flesh. Right in the center of the living room, Pipe dangled from chains. Blood dripped from his chest. An X was cut into his chest, two long diagonal slices that started from his shoulders and moved past his belly button. The X had a slanting effect which caused the center point to be over the location of his heart, a sort of twisted bulls eye.

Who the hell would do this to him?

His hands were tied up above his head as he remained trapped in an odd leather contraption with straps, buckles, and hooks near his waist and shoulders. A red ball was lodged in his mouth with some band that tied around his face and kept his lips from moving. He groaned again and tried to speak, kicking his feet as they hung three feet above the ground.

“Pipe!” Evie ran to him and began undoing buckles. “Are you okay?”

Pipe nodded and wiggled. He wouldn’t even look at me.

“Did that bastard do this?” she asked.

He stared at the floor. Tears fell from his eyes and added more watery paths to the ones that were already on his face. How long had he been crying and waiting for someone to come for him? How long had this son of a bitch been in here doing whatever to him? What would’ve happened if we hadn’t come?

“I’m going to kill that bastard,” Evie murmured.

“What bastard? Who did it, and is he still here?” I formed my hands into fists, scanned the suite, and rushed over to help her get Pipe down. She didn’t respond, too busy mumbling curses under her breath.

There were so many buckles it took both of us several nervous minutes to release him. Although there’d been a decent amount of blood, the cuts were precise and small, not deep enough to have me sling Pipe over my shoulder and race to the emergency room, but frightening enough to have me on edge and saying a silent prayer in my head.

“Remove the thing from his mouth. I can’t reach it.” Evie undid the straps around his waist.

“Who did this, Pipe?” I asked.

“He can’t talk.” Evie rolled her eyes.

“I know,” I said through clenched teeth. “Now I’m asking you.”

“Just calm down.”

“I am calm.”

“No, you’re not. You’re removing the hooks roughly, and you’re grinding your teeth like a mad man.”