Secret Storm (25 page)

"Why are we here now?" She lifted her head to
look at him, but his eyes gave her no clues.

"I'm trying to decide if I need to let this
tree house go. All I did here was hide, and hiding doesn't make
problems go away. I still had them when I left."

"Do you have any bad memories here?"

"No, only good ones."

"Then maybe you don't need to let this go.
You need to keep some happy memories of your past."

He got quiet, his deep blue eyes troubled
again.

Was he dwelling on bad memories? Did he have
so few good memories that he struggled to find them? She wondered
what she should say.
Maybe I need to keep my mouth shut for a
change.

He wore a determined expression. "We need to
make some happy memories for our future."

So he wasn't dwelling on the past. The future
troubled him—
their
future. "How are we going to do
that?"

"We need to figure out how to stay together
after graduation."

She played with the buttons on his shirt, a
one-word question keeping time with his pounding heart.
How?
They'd agreed that they wanted to stay together, so they needed to
start there.

Her eyes met his. "Yes, we do."

He exhaled. "I'm glad you said that. For a
minute there, I thought you'd changed your mind."

She smiled and kissed him, running her hand
down his chest. "Nope. I kinda like you, even if you are stubborn
and pig-headed."

"And you're not?"

"Not nearly as much as you are."

"Is that right?"

"We can argue like this all day. I don't mind
though because our arguments usually lead to...." She caught the
naughty sparkle in his eyes and knew he wanted to start a fight.
"Stop distracting me."

She thumped his chest and he laughed. She
grabbed a fistful of his hair and made him look at her. "I still
don't like the idea of a long-distance relationship, but I think we
can make it work."

He shook his head. "I don't like it either.
In fact, I don't want to do it."

"What? Why?"

"Remember that job I interviewed for
yesterday? It's in Forest Glen. I thought we could be together if I
got it."

"That would be perfect! It would solve
everything...."
He said 'if.'
"You didn't get the job."

"I don't know yet, but I can't wait for
someone else to decide my future. I need to take the chance and
make the decision myself. It doesn't matter if I get the job. After
graduation, I'm going to Forest Glen with you."

"But didn't you tell me your first job was
the first step toward your dream?"

"I hope it will be, but if not, there will be
others. No job is more important than being with you."

She loved hearing that.
Loved
it. But
she couldn't let him do it. "You can't give up your future for
me."

"I'm not giving up anything. I'm just
changing the play at the line of scrimmage. Actually, the
quarterback does that, but you know what I mean."

She didn't have a clue. "Are you sure? I
could put off grad school—"

"No, you worked too hard to get in. You can't
give all that up now. I'll make the sacrifice and I'm happy to do
it."

They'd known each other almost four years,
and she'd always known he cared for her. When he'd said he loved
her, she'd believed him, but at the time those had been desperate
words said to keep her from running away. He didn't say the words
this time—he didn't have to. His actions meant more to her than any
words ever could.

"Now I know you love me."

"It's about damn time, woman."

"I love you, too. Do you know that?"

"Prove it," he said with a devilish gleam in
his eyes and a naughty smile on his lips.

Oh I will... every day of our lives.
She lay back in the grass, taking him with her. "Oh, lover, I'm
just getting started."

"Is he here yet?"

"Not yet." Jane closed the dressing room door
and shook her head.

"Damn it!" Sara grabbed her cell phone and
held it up to her friend's face. "He sent me this text a half hour
ago: '
We're in OT.
' Where's OT?"

Jane laughed. "The game went into
overtime."

She growled and stomped to the mirror. Her
hair was perfectly in place, her makeup flawless, but the scowl on
her face had to go before she put on her dress. "I thought I'd
scheduled our wedding after football season."

"You forgot about the post-season."

She turned away from her scowling reflection
and snapped at her matron of honor. "The what?"

"The playoffs."

She laughed. "I should've known Jack would
make the playoffs. He's the best head coach they've ever had."

"If they win today, will you be back from
your honeymoon in time for the next game?"

"We will. We thought about taking the
honeymoon later, but we've both been so busy—Jack with football and
me finishing school and interviewing—we really needed some time for
us."

"When do you start your new job?"

"A week from Monday." She smiled. "The
current grief counselor at the hospice retires at the end of this
month, so I start on the first."

"I can tell you're excited."

She clasped her shaking hands. Getting
married and reaching her lifelong goal was a lot to take on in one
month, but she looked forward to the challenge. "I've wanted this
since Mom died."

"I know I never met her, but I'm sure she
would be proud of you."

Sara nodded and her eyes misted. "I wish she
was here today." She checked her mascara in the mirror—
thank God
it's waterproof
—then caught a look at the clock. "I wish my
fiancé was here!"

Right on cue, the door flew open and they
both jumped. Sara pulled her robe closed and cinched it as Jack and
Austin strode in.

Jane tried to push the groom out the door.
"It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

He laughed. "I've done a lot more than see
her before the wedding. I'll take the chance."

Austin's laugh sounded like pure evil.

Ignoring the best man, Sara turned on her
husband-to-be, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. She immediately
forgot the tongue-lashing she'd intended to give him for being
late, when he flashed her the wicked smile she loved. She'd never
had any doubts he wanted to marry her, but his tardiness had been a
stress she could've done without.

"Did you win?"

His smile widened.

"Did he ever!" Austin grinned. "The score was
tied with five seconds to go. Jack should've told his quarterback
to take a shot at the end zone."

Jack shook his head. "I trust him, but their
defense was too dangerous. We spiked the ball and let it go to
overtime. They won the toss, so I told my defense to force them to
go three and out."

"Uh-huh." Sara nodded. After years of
listening to his football talk, she understood the difference
between offense and defense, but 'three and out' still baffled
her.

"Their offense marched down the field, one
short pass from field goal range. I was sure the game was over,
when my safety came out of nowhere and picked it off."

"So beautiful," Austin said. "He ran it all
the way back for a touchdown."

"Wow, that's awesome." She could tell by the
grins on their faces that the win had been impressive. "We'll
celebrate later." She looked at Jane. "Get your husband out of
here."

Jane grabbed Austin's arm and scooted him out
the door.

"And you...." Sara took her fiancé's hands
and pulled him close. "Go get dressed."

"Aren't you happy to see me?" He faked a
pout.

"I'm thrilled. Now go get dressed so I can
marry you, Coach."

"Head coach," he corrected her as he backed
toward the door, taking her with him.

"Yes you are."

"Undefeated head coach."

"That's right."

He leaned back against the door and pulled
her against him. "What've you got on under there?" He hooked his
finger and pulled her satin robe aside, revealing her lacy white
bra.

She pushed back and pulled her robe closed.
"You can't look until after the ceremony."

"Baby, that ship sailed a long time ago."

"Well, it's never gonna get to port if you
don't go—"

"I know. I'm going." He put his hand on the
doorknob, then stopped and looked at her, his blue eyes thoughtful.
"I never thought I'd see this day."

"We needed to wait till after I finished
school."

"No, I mean... I thought I'd spend my life
alone. I wanted love, but I didn't know how to let anyone in. I
never thanked you for everything you did to help me... for not
giving up on me."

"You don't have to thank me. I love you. I'll
always be here when you need me."

"You know what I need better than
I
do. How'd you learn to read me so well?"

She winked. "I picked up a few tricks from
you."

Jack pulled her close and kissed her. "This
is gonna be good."

"It already is."

So much better than good. Better than
great.
Better than anything they'd ever wanted or needed, hoped
or dreamed.

Good?

No. The best.

I got hooked on trashy romance novels in
junior high, but my mom took them away from me. She couldn't stop
me from daydreaming, though. After I got married, I wrote some of
my naughtier daydreams down and sent them to Playgirl magazine,
which published two of them. I kept daydreaming and writing stories
until my dirty stories turned into trashy books.

I live in Colorado, but I'll always be a
loyal Wisconsin Cheesehead. When I'm not lusting after my next bad
boy hero, I'm looking for inspiration in sci-fi and action movies,
football players, bloodsucking lawyers, muscle cars, and kick-butt
chicks.

I'm known as "Trashy Writer" at various
social media sites. I call myself a trashy writer because I want my
readers to know that I enjoy mindless escapism as much as they do.
I'm not out to win a Pulitzer Prize. I just want to help someone
relax and get away from it all for a little while. I write romance,
erotica and trash for fun and pleasure.

I hope you have as much fun reading it as I
had writing it.

To learn more about me, check out
my 
website
, and be
sure to catch me on
Facebook
,
Goodreads
, 
Google+
,
and 
Twitter
.

Watch for
The Devil Made Me Do It
, a
collection of couples' erotica short stories, coming November 26,
2012 from
Evolved
Publishing
.

~~~~~~~~~~

Don’t tempt me…. Erin wants her husband to
rip her clothes off… literally. Does she dare provoke him? Natalie
wants to make love outdoors. Can she convince her shy husband?
Melissa wants the bad boy she just met in a bar. Should she or
shouldn’t she? And Heather watches from a secret room….

These women and others like them know what
they want in bed. But sometimes they have to be a little extra bold
to get it. Watch them bring their naughtiest fantasies to life in
some very interesting ways.

It wasn’t my idea… the devil made me do
it.