Fierce: New Adult Sport Romance (The Boys of Winter Book 4) (33 page)
Read Fierce: New Adult Sport Romance (The Boys of Winter Book 4) Online
Authors: Violet Vaughn
“Oh, Neal, that’s awful.” I reach over and take his hand. “Have you let yourself fall in love since?”
He turns on the bench and looks at me. “Yes. But she doesn’t feel the same way, and I can’t force her to.”
Heat rises to my cheeks at his admission. “Neal.”
“It’s okay. I never expected it. I’ve known since the first time I saw her with the other guy it wasn’t going to happen. But that doesn’t stop me from feeling her pain and wanting to make things better any way I can.”
I reach up and touch his face. His skin is soft, and his green eyes are warm in the spring sun. I want to tell him he’ll find the right one and she’ll make me look pale in comparison. I want to make things better for him too. “You’re a catch, you know. The right one will find you.”
He gives me a half smile. “One can always hope.”
“Christian wants me back. But he hurt me when he moved to New York and gave up on us and our life here. I’m having a hard time forgiving him and moving on.”
“You love him still, don’t you?”
“I do. But if he decides this life isn’t right either, I don’t think I can take the heartbreak all over again.” I reach for my coffee knowing it’s cold, but I take a sip anyway.
Neil takes the drink from me and sets it down. He holds my hands and gazes into my eyes. “That’s the thing about a true love though. You have to forgive mistakes and put yourself out there for them. Because when you find the person that becomes your world, and you become theirs, it’s worth the sacrifice.”
“Neal, you’re such a romantic. I had no idea.” But while I make light of what he said, I take the words to heart. Christian is my world, and maybe I need to swallow my pride for my everything. Suddenly staying overnight doesn’t appeal to me, and I wish we could go home instead.
Neal must sense the shift in my mood and he says, “I’m not so sure I want to stay tonight. If we leave now, we can be home at a reasonable hour. What do you say?”
“I think you’re an incredible man, and whoever you end up with will have me to answer to if she ever hurts you.” I take his face in my hands and kiss him. It’s more than just brushing my lips against his as I let Neal know I could imagine loving him.
On the trip back exhaustion finally wins, and I doze most of the way. It’s dark when we pull into my driveway. I lean over and give Neal a hug before getting out. I inhale his pleasant scent. “Don’t let anyone tell you you’re not a good guy. Thanks for being such a great friend.”
“You’re welcome. Now fix things with Christian and let me know if you need more of that champagne.”
I’m grinning when I turn to wave after I unlock my door. I step inside and pull out my phone. There’s a text from Christian I must have missed when I fell asleep.
“Sleep well, love you.”
I text back,
“I’m home early if you want to bring the dogs back.”
What I’m thinking though, is maybe we can both sleep well tonight.
Chris
tian’s knock on my door seems to happen within seconds of my text. His face is full of concern as I deal with my excited dogs. “Is everything okay? Did Neal make a move on you?”
“Everything’s fine. Neal was a perfect gentleman. We finished early, and I didn’t want to stay over.” I watch as Christian shuts the door and invites himself in by wandering over to the kitchen. He grabs the dogs’ water bowl and takes it to the sink to fill it with fresh water.
A smile forms on my face, and he asks, “What? What are you smiling about?”
“I’m smiling at the way you don’t give me the chance to shut you out. In case you haven’t noticed, I didn’t invite you in.”
He shrugs and has the grace to pretend his grin is sheepish. “Do you want me to leave?”
I shake my head as I walk toward him. “Nope.”
Metal scratches on the tile as he sets the large water bowl down. I say, “I want to be with you, Christian. My head thinks I’m a fool, but my heart can’t stay away. Why did you leave me?”
He walks toward me and stops. “I was afraid of being hurt. I fell too hard and fast for you, and I couldn’t trust you felt the same way.”
I shake my head. “You know I loved you. Did you think I was like Taylor?”
He nods and steps closer. “At first. I moved back to New York and pretended that’s what my dad would have wanted, but I don’t think it’s true.
The pain in his eyes makes me long to hold him. He continues, “I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Everywhere I went and everything I did reminded me of you—of us. Maybe I needed to prove to myself I couldn’t live without you.”
He rakes his hands through his hair, making it stand on end as he steps even closer. “The past few months have been hell.”
Christian is standing inches from me, but I don’t back away. The buzz of electricity between us practically sparks into an arc. He licks his lips, and my ability to think waivers.
He says, “I know you aren’t like Taylor, and I should have trusted you. I screwed up in a big way. I love you. Please give me another chance to prove it to you.”
My pulse is pounding in my ears. “I’m willing to take a chance on you. On us.”
I reach out and touch his mouth with my finger. He sucks it in, and a tiny whimper comes from my throat. Cotton bunches in my hand as I grab at his shirt to pull him into a kiss. I take him with it, stripping away what I need as my tongue plunges into his mouth roughly. I want to taste all of him, and I yank at his clothes. A button pops and skitters across the floor as I race to get the shirt off his body quickly. My need to take him for my own is primal, and he lets me ravage him until he’s standing naked.
I step back to scan his body, and my voice is raspy when I order him to sit on the couch. “Don’t move.”
I grab his pants and retrieve the condom from his wallet to throw the slick package to him. Already barefoot, I remove my jeans and panties as he rolls it on. Still in my shirt, I straddle his lap and sink down on him. He hisses at my brutal mount, and I ride him with force until I scream in the ecstasy of my orgasm.
I yank his head back by his hair and suckle his neck. His salty flavor makes me ravenous, and I’m being rough enough I may leave a mark. I can’t help myself. I’m claiming him as mine and taking what I want, what I need.
Christian’s hips are still thrusting as I move with the rhythm, and another climax is building in me. I growl. “Don’t come yet.”
He grunts in recognition and slows his pace as I quicken my assault. I’m so close, and his body is trembling as he holds on for me. Panting fills my ears and tries to chase away the pounding of my heart as we race to the pinnacle. I cry out, “Christian!”
He lets go too. “Dannika!”
Our bodies heave with exertion, and I slump into him as I say, “God, I missed you.”
My core quivers and flexes around him, and he shudders in response. “Christ, you can do that to me again anytime you want.”
I gyrate my hips and whisper, “Take me upstairs. I’m not done.”
***
The chill against my leg makes me pull at the covers, but they’re already on me. I’m awake enough now to realize Christian is what’s cold. He must have just crawled back into bed. I mumble. “Did you leave?”
“Yeah, I went home for something.” He presses more chilled skin against me.
“In the middle of the night?” I pull him closer to offer my warmth.
His body lifts up. “Princess, are we good now?”
I roll onto my back and look up into his face. Illuminated by moonlight, his cheekbones are prominent, and I stroke his jawline. “Yeah, you’re more than sex for me.”
He chuckles. “Good, because you never really answered my question the other night.”
I bolt up in bed and scramble to the floor. “Oh, no you don’t. Go put clothes on.”
“What?”
“No way am I telling our kids you proposed to me stark naked and smelling like sex. Put them on!”
He chortles as he pulls on his jeans. “I’m commando. Can we tell them that?”
I shoot him a warning glare. “Don’t make me rethink this.”
He shakes his head as he takes his pants off and pulls on underwear. “Perhaps I should find a tie?”
“So I can strangle you? Go ahead.” I finish buttoning my shirt and am tempted to order him to kneel before me. But I refrain so he doesn’t tell our children I forced him to propose.
Without my prompt, he gets down on one knee and takes my hand. “Dannika Hamilton, since the day we met I’ve been in love with you. Every single day after, I fell deeper until you were my everything. The idea of life without you is unimaginable, and I want to spend the rest of my time with you as your husband. Will you marry me?”
A grin I can’t control covers my face. “Yes. You’re my everything too, Christian.”
The ring is warm as he slips it on my finger, and I gaze in the dim light at a large rectangular stone set with smaller ones on either side. I want to see it more clearly, but not yet.
He stands to pull me into a tender kiss that flows with love right down to my toes. We break apart and I say, “I love you, Christian.”
“I love you too.” He leans away from me to snap on the lamp beside the bed. “If you don’t like the ring we can change it.”
I marvel at the light that bounces off what must be at least a four-carat diamond. “It’s so beautiful; no way do I want to change it.”
I lean against him as I twist my hand back and forth. “You know me pretty well. I always said I wanted an emerald-shaped diamond engagement ring.”
“Did you? And do you remember who you told?”
“Oh, my friends when I was a little girl.” I look at his twinkling eyes. “And my brother?”
Christian. “Before I left New York, I asked him what you might like for a ring. I hoped if there was any doubt in your mind about how right we are for each other the diamond would win you over.”
I picture him walking into the cafe the first day we met. “You had me when you walked into my life like a dream.”
“I’m your prince, Dannika, and you’re my princess, forever.”
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Other Books by Violet Vaughn
The Fire and Ice Series
Pulse
(2015)
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Violet Vaughn is a ski bum at heart. A former ski instructor, she still loves bumps, trees, and a good powder day. When she isn’t skiing or writing she runs through the woods with her three Portuguese Water Dogs, laughs with her family or reads. You can learn more about her at
www.violetvaughn.com
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