Kick (Completion Series) (26 page)

Cami,

I know this makes no sense at the moment
, but I need you to keep an open mind. My brother loves you. Losing you is just as bad as losing him. You need to come back here and make a life for the two of you.

The Col
t Sentinel is now in your name. You own it free and clear. My brother will probably be a bonehead about you working, but you need to follow your dream. This gives you every opportunity to do it. Not on as grand a scale, but our community needs you. Rugby needs you.

More than anything, I want you and my brother happy. I can’t lose you both.

Joel

This made no sense at all. I reread the short letter before looking at Charlie for clarification. “Have you read this?”

He shook his head
and said, “No, but I know basically what it says.”

“Van doesn’t love me and I don’t love Van. We’re friends… or at least we were. I haven’t returned any of his text messages
, so that might not even be true.”

Charlie rubbed his chin.
“Well, that’s interesting.”

“Interesting? Joel’s insane. Why would he push me at his brother when it’s Joel I love?”

“Hmm, a little more than interesting now, boss.”

Horror washed over me. “Don’t you dare call me
boss. I can’t own a newspaper. You can’t sell the paper. It’s in your blood, just like rugby.”

“Actually, given this opportunity changed our thinking… mine and Stub’s
,” he clarified. “With you at the helm—someone we trust and much younger blood—we can work and travel. That gives us the best of both worlds. If you don’t accept this gift, you’ll need to find a buyer, and we may not like that person as much as we like you.”

“No.” I
practically shouted. “No, no, no.” Fit-throwing Cami was making an appearance. “This can’t be happening.”

“It can. It is. And we need you. Like Joel said
, rugby needs you. Your articles have thrown The Slam on its ear. There are investors, advertisers, and a hot fire burning under the team.”

I stopped him before he could go on
. “No, they won the championship. That’s why all that is happening.”

“You’re smarter than that.
I can’t believe people haven’t inundated you with emails and letters to your editor. The entire league needs to thank you.”

Well, in one way he was right. Rugby fans were coming out of the woodwork. The letters to the editor were demanding airtime on local television and more than one team to choose from representing the U
.S. in the world rugby arena. Crap.

“I can’t run a paper.”

“And you think I could? I poured my life savings into
The Sentinel
and struggled for years with a learning curve. You have me and Stub to hold your hand and teach you everything we know. We have homelessness, crime, and domestic violence. Hell, there are activist college students that want a voice. We’re like bigger cities, just on a smaller scale. We can share responsibilities so Stub and I can travel and you can put your investigative journalist instincts to work. If you can write with the heart you showed in the rugby series, I can only imagine what you can do with what you think is really important.”

I swear the room was spinning. I hea
rd everything he said, but “I don’t love Van” was what came out of my mouth.

“Funny you should say that. I think Joel got more wrong than a simple typo on a name. You don’t buy a newspaper for a woman you don’t love. I can absolutely swear to that.”

“Joel was tapped out money wise. The sponsors can’t have lined his pockets so much he could afford to buy your paper.”

“Hell no. Stub drives a mean bargain and he paid top dollar.
Apparently he had some prime real estate that he sold.”

Hell. I knew exactly what
Joel sold. Fuck. Now I wanted to cry again. Too bad my anger was getting the better of me. Joel wouldn’t even listen and now he was trying to hand me to his brother on a silver platter. After I wrung his neck, I wasn’t letting him out of a bedroom for at least a week.

“
That’s the go get ’em expression I remember you having. I think you need to straighten a certain rugby player out, boss.”

I shot up out of my chair and threw myself back at Charlie.
“I’m docking your pay every time you call me boss.”

We
laughed and hugged until he made me get off his lap, claiming his knees were weak and they needed a break. I took Charlie to dinner, insisting that’s what bosses did. Charlie had pre-booked me on a flight to return to Colt the following day. I had nothing pending and I’d be damned if my man was going to wallow in self-pity through the weekend. I had some major ass to kick.

Before I left my office, I typed another resignation letter and emailed it to Miller.
I felt bad for not hand-delivering it, but I wanted to be sure my two-week notice started as soon as possible. There would be no rescinding this resignation. I was taking a play out of Joel’s book. He was mine and I would damn well annihilate him until he knew it. 

Charlie was booked into a hotel
, but ended up sleeping on my couch. He refused to take the bed and since I pulled the boss card over buying dinner, I let him have his way. I also gave him moral support when he claimed his back was broken the following morning.

We arrived in Colt late in the afternoon. We met Stub for dinner. I cried again. Having her and Charlie was li
ke having another family. They already loved Joel and my parents would too.

Now,
it was time to convince Joel he loved me.

Charlie loaned me his Jeep for the ride to Joel’s home. He also gave me directions in case I got lost. I’d been there once
, but it was semi-dark and I remembered lots of winding turns while sitting on the back of Van’s bike.

I found the house. There were a few lights on
, so I hoped he was home. With shaking hands and legs that didn’t want to support me, I knocked on the door. Van answered wearing nothing but a low-riding pair of jeans. His chest was yummy, but not the one I most wanted to see.

Van was staring at me in shock. “Is Joel here?”
I asked with more confidence than I actually felt now that match time actually arrived.

“Come in. Joel you have company
,” he yelled over his shoulder before whispering to me, “Good for you.”

Joel came out of the kitchen with a dishtowel in his hand. He stopped dead in his tracks.

“I think I’ll go up to my room.” Van headed for the stairs.

Here it goes, “No
, Van. You need to be here.” I walked closer to Joel, who still hadn’t moved. “Charlie showed up in my office yesterday with some news. It seems I now own a newspaper, therefore I can live here in town with the man I love and still work on my dream.” I looked at Van whose eyes had grown slightly larger. He obviously knew nothing about Joel’s grand gesture. Glancing back at Joel, I took another step closer. “The problem seems to be that the man I love wants to give me to his brother.”

“Shit,” Van whispered.

Now it was Joel’s turn to look at his brother. “I know you love her. You just need to admit it to yourself.”

The look on Van’s face was one of the funniest things I’d ever
seen. I think he honestly tried to hide his disgust at the type of love his brother meant. “Ah, well…” Van without a comeback was priceless. He tried again, “You have this all wrong, bro.”

Joel exploded. “I’m so sick of your shit. It’s obvious to everyone but you. I’ve never seen you go back after a woman you’ve
previously slept with. I saw your phone the other day and you’ve sent her a hundred text messages.”

“Did you read them?”
Just a touch of anger sounded in Van’s voice.

“Fuck no I didn’t read them
, but you need to look at your actions and realize what you’re doing.”

Van
walked closer to his brother. “And you need to stay the fuck away from my phone and stop thinking you owe me something because you were in the car when Mom was killed.”

Oh hell. It was like I was no longer in the room.

Joel’s face was red. “I do owe you something. I owe you everything. I should have fucking died that day. This,” he ran his finger over his scar, “is not nearly the punishment I deserve.”

“You were driving her
, not the car that hit you. Stop with the pity parties and guilt. What the fuck could you have done? Yes, I would give anything to have my mother back. Anything but trade you. She wouldn’t have survived your loss and neither would I. You need to open your own eyes and realize who you love and fucking take her. Yes, I slept with her, but quite frankly, there’s nothing there.” Van looked at me and gave me an apologetic smile before attacking his brother with words once again. “Cami and I are friends. Yeah, I know that sounds ridiculous coming from me, but we established that before the championship game. And just so we’re clear, there are no extra benefits involved. She loves you and you love her, so whatever this grand gesture is… leave me the fuck out of it. Now, I’m going to my room and plugging earphones in my ears.” Van turned back to me. “You can yell and scream at this idiot all you want. If you need me to kick his ass just pound on my door. Otherwise, I won’t be leaving my room for the rest of tonight.”

He didn’t wait around. He stomped heavily up the stairs like a little boy going to pout.
There were a million things Joel could have said to me, but the last thing I expected was what I got.

“What the hell are you wearing?”

I looked down at myself. Baggy pants, baggy shirt, and old tennis shoes. I definitely could have dressed up more. Crap… my sports bra. The last time I was in this house, wild Cami came out to play. This dunderhead needed to know he loved me and if my breasts had his attention, I’d use it. I pulled my shirt over my head, dropped it, and took my bra off too. I watched Joel as I stretched out my arm while holding my bra and released it. I took a step closer and said, “Your brother had better stay in his room because him seeing me standing here brings out the ick factor.”

Joel’s eyes went electric. “Ick factor?”

“I’m hoping to be related to him someday and the last thing I need him telling his nieces and nephews is that he caught me sexually enticing his brother in the center of the living room.”

His lips quirked.
“Is that a proposal?”

“Hell no. I get the proposal. I wa
nt flowers, you on one knee, and a ring. Even then, I might say no.” I boldly pushed my chest out a little more and saw Joel’s eyes flash down before coming up.

“You don’t love my brother?” he asked softly.

“Actually, I might,” I answered honestly. “But like a brother. He’s irritating, treats women deplorably, and needs a swift kick in the balls at least once a week. Yes, I do love your brother.”

“Ick.”

“I love you more.”

Joel took the final steps
toward me and I was in his arms. Before he could kiss me, I tugged on the bottom of his t-shirt. He wrenched it over his head and pulled me in tight so we were skin to skin. I slowly ran my fingers over his scar. “I hate thinking about the pain you suffered, but this,” I stopped where his lip puckered slightly, “is one of the reasons I love you. You’re beautiful.”

“You’re saying all the things I should be saying to you.” His husky words sent shivers over my skin.

“No, you should be kissing me.”

Finally, his lips came down. I breathed him
in. This was where I belonged.

Joel unsnapped my pants and they dropped without much effort. I tugged at his jeans. I was on the floor on my back a minute later. His fingers went to my pussy. “I’m ready
. Please, Joel.” And I was. He’d made me wet within seconds of taking off his shirt. It was also the possessive look in his eyes. He slid in—one hard, swift stroke. My pelvis lifted to meet him.

“God,” he moaned into my hair. “I love you.”

Those words lessened the pain from the past few weeks. I loved the sounds of our erratic breathing, feeling him pumping in and out—loved that my body responded to his. We were made for each other. He slowed for a moment, driving me crazy. “Please, Joel.” I dug my fingernails into his back.

“Anything you want,” he said as his
pace increased.

The feel of him. I licked the corner of his lip
s before he raked his teeth along my jaw. Fuck, the taste of him. His smell… everything. Sensation exploded. I cried out and Joel covered my mouth with his, taking in my scream, adding his own growly moan. His hips slammed one last time against mine, hot cum filling me.

Our sweaty bodies melded together until Joel lifted a bit and rolled
, bringing me on top of him. “I didn’t use a condom,” he said against my sweat-dampened hair.

“I’m not on birth control
, so you better not wait too long to propose.” I nuzzled his chest, one of my favorite places on his body. I slid my fingers over the mountain range of muscle that was all mine.