Keeper (Alpha Athletes #2) (8 page)

I
looked into the dark
, mysterious eyes of Lachlan Kenzie in disbelief. Did he say what I thought he said? Was he falling just as hard as I was?

“I can’t believe this.”

He kissed me tenderly. “Believe it.”

I don’t know why the driver took the long route to the hotel—maybe he thought it would be fun to torture us in the backseat—but it felt as if an eternity passed before he deposited us outside.

Lachlan led me inside, racing to the elevator with a big grin on his face. We couldn’t get there fast enough.

I don’t know when the moment was for him, or if there was even a moment when everything came into focus. I think it had been collecting and layering in front of my eyes since the first night I met Lachlan in the athletes’ village.

He had been rough and angry. Gorgeous and sexy with a dark past and a dim future. I did everything I thought I was supposed to do to protect my heart, but looking back, I didn’t try hard. I didn’t stand a chance. The minute I let him kiss me and take my body I was his. I was lost without him. I was only good with him and now he was telling me he was only good with me.

He fumbled with the key, throwing the door open.

He scooped me up from the floor, slamming the door behind us. His mouth sought mine with urgent kisses, biting and sucking at my lips.

He lowered me to the bed, peeling the clothes from my body, shirking his to the floor. I admired his toned body as he unbuttoned his pressed white shirt. He was the sexiest man I’d ever seen.

He grinned widely. “I can’t wait to fuck you like this.”

“Like what?” My breath was rapid. I wanted him more than I ever had.

“Just us. No more charade.”

My heart thumped. I knew what else he meant. Skin to skin. Breath on breath. Nothing between us.

His head lowered to my breast, sucking my nipple until it was a hard nub in his mouth. I pressed the back of his head against my chest. It all felt delicious and naughty. It was exciting before because we were playing a game, but now it felt dangerous because I was never supposed to be Lachlan’s girlfriend. This was even more dangerous. I was going somewhere with this bad boy that no woman had ever been.

I reached forward to stroke his solid cock. God, I had fallen in love with it as much as him in the past week.

He moaned as I massaged the head, coating the drop of dew over his skin.

“Tell me, love. Tell me to fuck you just like this,” he growled.

“Yes,” I begged. “Fuck me. I want it. I want you. Nothing between us.”

And he reared back before slicing into me with total fullness as his hard shaft plunged deep to my core. I bowed off the bed but began rocking into him.

We were hungry and passionate. Desperate to make the other feel the connection we shared. Desperate to make the other come with heavy pleasure.

Lachlan moved inside me, hilting himself while I gasped for breaths. “Oh God,” I screamed, grabbing fistfuls of his hair in my hands.

“Come, baby,” he commanded.

There was no stopping it. I came over and over as the orgasm split through me fast and hard. I looked into his eyes as he tensed and pulsed with his own release. I tipped upward as he spilled himself deep inside me.

“Fuck, Aspen.” He lowered himself next to me.

I closed my eyes, letting the soothing feelings run through my body.

“You know I can’t lie here very long.”

“Why not?”

I rolled on my side to face him. “I have to go clean up that nightmare you started an hour ago.”

“Right.” He folded his hands over his chest. “Want some help?”

I sat forward. “I think I’ll see what I can do first. I’ll let you know.” I kissed him on the cheek and scooted off the end of the bed.

I had my work cut out for me. I reached for a robe on the chair and slipped my arms through the sleeves. I knew what I had to deal with before I even picked up my phone. I had missed calls and texts.

I groaned when I saw Karen’s number.

But the stakes were different now. I was with Lachlan. This wasn’t about the Revolution video game launch. It wasn’t about his brand. It was about letting everyone know this man was completely redeemable, and if I could fall in love with him—so could the rest of the world.

I
stared
at the forward charging toward me. His eyes were focused on the goal. I had seen eyes like that before. Determination and skill were a lethal combination on the world stage like this. The noise from the fans was deafening.

This wouldn’t be his first attempt to score on me. He had shot twice in the first half. He wasn’t leaving here without getting one past me. Only he didn’t know I had that same kind of determination.

I wasn’t relinquishing my focus. I wouldn’t slip for one second. No hesitation. No fear. My fingers tingled as I followed the path his eyes took. I stepped out of the box as the crowd gasped. I was far from the net, but it was the only way to take him down.

I ran full-speed toward the bastard and swiped the ball under him out of bounds.
Fuck.
I wanted it back in my hands, but he didn’t give me a choice.

I walked back to the front of the net and waited for the opposition to set up a pass.

My teammates gathered in front, deciding who was going to cover the next shot.

I saw it coming before anyone else had time to think. I dove head first to the ground, reaching my fingertips long toward the goal post. The ball grazed my palms as I clutched the leather and wrapped it in toward my belly.

That was more like it.

Sixteen countries had started in this tournament three weeks ago, and it was down to two for the gold medal. Us and Brazil.

The entire stadium was packed with almost eighty thousand screaming fans dressed and painted in our countries’ colors. There was only one fan out there that mattered to me. One who had changed my life more than a gold medal or a multi-million endorsement could.

Aspen waved wildly from the box. She looked fucking cute in the British flag, especially for an American girl.

There was an injury time out on the pitch and I jogged to the sideline for a drink of water. The heat wave had broken and we were dealing with more normal temperatures. There were only five minutes left. Five fucking minutes to decide the medal.

It hadn’t meant anything to me before. But I wanted it. I wanted to win. I wanted that gold around my neck.

The injured player was hauled off the field and the crowd booed.

I walked back to the goal. This was it.

My fingers twitched. I squinted hard, narrowing in on my target. He passed the ball off, but got it right back again. They ran as if their lives depended on it, and here they did. They were the home country, playing in front of their fans. The host city ready to take home the gold. And no UK team had won before. No one thought we could win. But I did.

Because I had a new kind of faith. A faith that second chances happened in this shitty world. That darkness could evaporate. That loneliness could fade. And sometimes when you weren’t looking, there was someone in your corner when everyone else had abandoned you.

I stared him down, daring him to kick that ball at me. Vowing if he did, that ball wouldn’t come near the net.

He raced toward me, lining up the shot when it launched off his foot. I didn’t expect it to come at such a sharp angle. I threw myself in the air, fueled by adrenaline and hope. Hope that I could block the shot. Hope that I could end this game.

I groaned when the ball smacked me in the chest. I fell to the ground, clutching it against my sternum. It fucking hurt like hell, but I stopped it. I fucking stopped it.

The crowd erupted in disbelief. I didn’t give a shit. I saw the British flags waving from the corners and from this distance, I could see Aspen smiling and jumping in her seat.

It was all I needed. I had everything.

Three weeks ago I didn’t know that I could have more in my life than expensive liquor and a different woman in my bed every night. Three weeks ago I didn’t know I wanted more than that life. I took my talent for granted. I took my teammates for granted. Hell, I took my country for granted.

All of that changed when I met a fiery American girl with a head for business and a body for the bedroom.

What started off as a slow seduction and a fake relationship turned into the biggest reality check of my life. I needed her. I wanted her.

My mates hoisted me in the air and I landed on a set of shoulders. By the time we made a round circling the pitch, the British fans had filtered to the bottom of the stadium. The Brazilian fans were angry and had thrown leftover drinks and trash on the ground.

I looked everywhere for her. I hopped to the ground, searching the crowd. I smiled at one of the reporters, but ran past her looking for Aspen.

And then she emerged from a throng of people. Her blond hair shone in the sun. Her eyes sparkled. She flung her arms around me as I lifted her. My lips found hers as I kissed her.

“You did it.” She laughed. “You saved the game.”

“I guess I did.” I kissed her again.

The pitch was total chaos. No one thought we’d win. We’d done something no other team before us had been able to accomplish. It hadn’t sunk in yet—I didn’t know when it would that we were now a part of football history.

The ushers tried to corral us to the sidelines so they could set up the stage for the medal presentation, but I didn’t want to move. I wanted another second to soak it in. I wanted to remember this moment. The moment when the walking train wreck had finally redeemed himself when his country needed him the most. When against all the odds I had succeeded. When no one believed in me, but the woman in my arms.

“You realize this changes everything,” she said.

I looked into her eyes. “No, love. It doesn’t.”

I wanted her to know it had changed long before this moment. It had changed the first night we met. I was a better man because of her.

Taylor came up behind me and tugged on my arm. “You’re wanted on the stage with the rest of us, mate. You can celebrate later.” He gave me a knowing look.

I turned to Aspen. “I’ve got to go.”

“Of course.” She reached up on her toes and brushed her lips over mine. “Go get the gold, baby.”

I grabbed her ass and pulled her toward me. “Always.”

* * *

G
et
ready for
Penetrate
(Book 3) in the Alpha Athletes series.

Follow Violet and sign up for her newsletter so you don’t miss any new releases.

I
am having so
much fun writing the Alpha Athletes series for the Olympics. I get to make the games hot and sexy (completely zika free) and just run with these short story ideas I have. But I feel like I need to spill on a tiny confession, y’all. Lachlan is inspired by a hot British soccer player I met years ago. He played for a professional team (I’ll keep those deets to myself), but he was incredibly sexy (a lot of it was the accent), but I swear he was the best-smelling man on the planet. I have never forgotten him. And so, even though I don’t think he ever was or is the bad boy Lach is in this story, I do think he was one sexy soccer star who needed a book.

I’m working on the final book in this group called,
Penetrate
. Can’t wait to get it in your hands.

Thank you for all the love, support and reading!

Y’all are the absolute best!

X
OXO
,

Violet