AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was a tough game, Dad. We did our best.” I knew better than to defend myself by now. I just couldn’t help it.
“Did your best my ass,” he seethed. “You were throwing like a punk out there, and that sack in the third quarter should’ve never happened. You were slow, lazy. And that’s why you lost.”
My chest rose and fell as my breaths sawed in and out of my chest. Heat infused my cheeks, making them burn red. I stood in silence, doing my best to tune his voice out as he continued to criticize me, my fists clenched so tight I could feel my blunt nails cutting into the heels of my palms. I’d gotten pretty good at it over the years, and his voice faded out in my head, like he was shouting from the end on a long, dark, tunnel. It made it easier to stand there and take it so he’d burn himself out faster.
Only, just then I heard the sound of laughter over my father’s voice, and for a moment, I forgot what I was supposed to be doing and accidentally let my mask slip. Because the one person I couldn’t help myself around just happened to be coming around the corner at that very second.
My heart thudded against my sternum as the sight of her walking with a small group of friends. She was dressed in jeans and a baggy sweater, her long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. There wasn’t a speck of makeup on her face, but she was still the prettiest girl I’d ever laid eyes on. And she was here. I didn’t know she came to the games, but if I’d known she was in the stands tonight, maybe the outcome would have been different.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she continued down the sidewalk, her eyes squinting as she laughed at something one of her friends said. That musical laugh, like wind chimes in the ocean breeze, made my chest feel hot and tight.
As if she could feel my gaze on her, she turned her head in my direction. Her lips parted in surprise, her smile falling away as her eyes widened, and as quickly as she’d looked at me, sheripped her gaze away, but not before I caught the way the apples of her cheeks turned the same rosy pink as her lips.
I watched her the whole way, completely lost in her, until she and her friends finally rounded the corner out of sight, making my heart sink.
It was the brutal smack upside my head that brought me back to the present and reminded me who I was standing in front of. Experience taught me I should have expected it, been better prepared, but I wasn’t. The hit was hard enough that my head whipped to the side, sending a spark of pain through my neck.
“Get your goddamn head in the game, Beau,” Dad stewed, turning to look over his shoulder in the direction Presley had just disappeared, his lip curled in derision. “You know I don’t like repeating myself. What the hell did I tell you about that girl?”
“There’s nothing going on,” I said quickly. “We don’t even talk anymore.” He’d seen to that, hadn’t he? “Anyway, she’s nobody.” The lie made me sick to my stomach, because the fact was, Presley Fields waseverything.
“Good.” He studied my expression for a lie, but I’d made sure to slam that mask back into place. “See it stays that way.” Then, like he hadn’t humiliated me out in the open where anyone could see, he turned and walked away from me like nothing had happened. “I’ll see you at home. Don’t be late. It makes your mother worry.”
Chapter Fifteen
PRESLEY
As I walkedalong the dock to the adorable seaside restaurant that served the best brunches in Whitecap, I couldn’t help but think I was making a mistake. Just like he’d promised, Mike had called a few days ago after he got back to town and asked me out. I’d said yes, but after my kiss with Beau on the beach two days ago, meeting another guy for a date felt... wrong. That was the only reason I could think why I’d called him the day before with a bullshit excuse about having to work so I could switch the date from an intimate dinner to a much more casual lunch.
I didn’t know what the hell I was doing anymore. For the longest time, I’d been convinced that Mike was what I’d wanted, he was the perfect guy for me. The safe bet. Sweet, unassuming, pleasant to be around, and calm. Mostly calm. The antithesis to the raging storm that was Beau Wade.
But then Beau kissed me.
And thatfreakingkiss. It had been screwing with my head since it happened and I didn’t know how to make it stop. I couldn’t make myself stop thinking about it. Just like in the past,Beau had managed to do something that consumed every single corner of my brain.The bastard.
In the past forty-eight hours I’d run the gamut of emotions. Everything from pissed as hell to so horny I could barely see straight. All because of Beau and thatdamn, damn, damnkiss!
It happened so fast I didn’t have time to brace or prepare. One second I was yelling at him and the next his strong, hard, massive body pressed against me, his mouth sealed on mine. There was nothing slow or savoring about it. It was urgent and hungry. The way he wrapped his arms around me, one arm banded across my upper back, the other closer to my hips as he leaned over, surrounding me, felt almost possessive. His hold forced my back to arch slightly, pressing my breasts harder against the solid wall of his chest.
It was impossible not to react to the way he was kissing me, not to fall into it and get lost. His hands began to roam like he couldn’t decide where he wanted to touch me most, like he was trying to commit every inch of me to memory. Sparks ignited in my blood and raced through my entire body as my heart pumped harder and faster, before centering between my thighs. My breasts suddenly felt heavy, my nipples so tight they could cut glass.
His tongue tangled with mine, thrusting like his hips would if he were to bury his cock deep inside me. And speaking of, I could feel the evidence of his arousal pressing like a steel rod against my belly as my hands molded to his chest. Hisincrediblechest.
The man was built like something out of a romance novel. The first thing I thought when I opened my eyes and saw him standing over me was that he couldn’t possibly be real. Rounded, defined pecs sat on top of stacks and stacks of ab muscles, the ridges between each one cutting deep. I counted silently, my jaw nearly dropping when I got to eight. If Ithought his arms were sexy, they were nothing compared to the sight of him shirtless, all that golden bronzed skin glistening with sweat in the early morning sunlight creeping up.
He groaned into my mouth when my fingers curled, my nails digging into his flesh as I desperately tried to get closer. I couldn’t stop the quiet noises of pleasure spilling past my lips and down his throat, and those sounds only seemed to spur him on. I’d never been kissed like this. I felt like I was coming out of my skin, and when he ripped his lips from mine to drag them down the sensitive cord of my neck, I couldn’t stop my head from falling back or the needy whimper that dragged up my throat.
This was the kind of kiss you only saw in movies, where the hero plundered the heroine’s mouth with an unfiltered need, consuming them both, the kind of kiss that only happened once in a lifetime, if you were lucky. It was as if my entire focus had shrunk to nothing but the two of us, my vision closing in around the edges so all that existed was the two of us.
“God, Bubbles,” he groaned against my neck. “Your mouth’s so fucking perfect. I’ve been dying for this longer than you could ever know.”
Heat shot down my spine as a flood of arousal soaked my panties. I might have been embarrassed by the sounds I was making if I wasn’t so freaking turned on. My fingers dragged up his body to tangle in his hair, holding him even closer, like I was afraid he’d stop.
“Say you want me too,” he rasped against my neck, his voice pleading. “Tell me you’ve been thinking about me these past ten years like I’ve been thinking about you. Wanting you. Every goddamn day.”
“I—”
His head came up to look at me, the vivid blue of his eyes nearly blinding, even with how they’d glazed over with want. His voice came out deep, craggy, when I stopped. “Presley.”
