Game For Love: Devil of the Gridiron (Kindle Worlds Novella)
Page 9
Her friend rose then grasped Charlotte's shoulders. They were eye-to-eye. Mona's gazed looked a bit wild. “I was going to ease you into this in about a week or two.”
Charlotte snorted. “No you weren't. You love being pushy.”
“Okay, two days, tops. But what does all this say to you? If this was his way of getting back into your good graces, all he had to do was walk up here with one check.”
Mrs. Parker made a face. “Yeah. It's why I told you. I've known Adam for a while. If he can help you, he will. Five grand is a drop in the bucket for him. This is…”
“It's guilt,” Charlotte said, trying to hold on to something. If she believed he loved her, she'd do something reckless, irrevocable.
Mona scoffed. “No one feels this guilty.”
Angela nodded in agreement. “Not even Adam.”
Charlotte balled her hands. They were trembling. “You're not just saying he didn't want me to know?”
“I was supposed to find a box or some random person who looked trustworthy and hand off the money then scuttle off. And you must know Adam if he did this for you. What would he do if he felt guilty?”
But that was the thing. Adam had no reason to feel guilty. She'd broken things off with him. She'd been the one to remind him of all the things that could hurt her. Not the other way around. He'd walked because she'd pushed him out.
His friend had protected him and gotten hurt in the process. At what point would she put the blame where it really lied? The boys who had needed to hurt Adam on that football field could have let it go. They could have stopped after one good tackle.
Still, he'd carried that for years, because Adam was loyal, kind, and…yeah, cocky. He had his fun, but if he hurt someone, he was determined to make it right. Isn't that how they'd met? How they had become lovers?
Charlotte stood, her hands no longer shaking. “I have to go to him.”
“I'll get cleanup,” Mona said. “Go.”
“Do you mind if I help?” Angela offered. “Plus, I kind of assume you're going to call Mona with details, and I'm nosy.”
Charlotte chuckled. “I don't know why they thought you'd just drop the money off and leave.”
Kent's wife shrugged. “Eventually, it would have been obvious. There's a lot of football players and sports agents in that pile of checks. But he's in love.”
In love. It was crazy but she didn't doubt it. How—when she felt the same? With that, Charlotte ran for her car. She had to get to Adam.
*****
Adam opened his door and then had to lean against the doorjamb. His knees didn't feel steady, and his heart was going beat right out of his chest at the sight of Charlotte. She wore the same simple outfit from the morning's news, but her hair looked wind-whipped. The color was high in her cheeks, and her eyes were bright.
He balled his fists against the need to pull her to him, kiss her hard, and remind her of everything they'd had, even for a short time. They were done. She didn't want him.
But then it dawned on him. Charlotte didn't do reckless.
“Angela told you,” he said and sighed, letting go of the hope that she was there to be with him.
She lifted her hand then dropped it back down to her side. “Yes.”
“And that's why you're here.” The elation of seeing her continued to fade. He dragged a hand through his hair. “I didn't want you to think that's why I was giving you the money—so you'd come to me. I swear, I get it. I'm not the best choice for you. You want stable, patient, and probably someone who wouldn't smack your ass every chance he gets. You don't…” He swallowed. This woman had him in damn knots, and he didn't care. “You are important to me, and I don't want you to be here out of some sense of obligation. You don't have to thank me.”
“Are you done?” Charlotte asked.
What more could he say? He nodded.
She stepped forward and put a hand on his chest, across his heart. It was still racing, and from her small smile, he could guess she could feel the rapid thump.
“I'm not here to thank you.”
He inhaled deeply and refused to let that spark the hope. “No?”
“Do you know what I wished for so hard while I was sitting there, hopeless—knowing I'd done my best and I would lose the program?”
He opened and closed his fists. “What?”
“I wished for you. Just you. I wanted to see you walking up. It would have taken all my willpower not to run into your arms.”
That was all the hope he needed. “Charlotte,” he rasped.
“So I'm here because the man I want will tell me to not wear panties, even while he treats me like a gentleman would. He'll talk me into skydiving, even though it's insane and we can die. The man who caresses me as though I am the most precious thing he's ever had the opportunity to touch. And that's you.”
He grasped her wrist, just in case she decided to run, but she was still talking. “I want to look at you and feel like it's the first time I've ever bothered to live, not just survive. Before you, that's all I did. And I want to live the rest of my life with you, Adam. I know, it's crazy and we just met—”
He tugged her into him and kissed her, hard and long. Now he knew how she felt whenever he'd rendered her speechless. It was a heady sensation, one that warmed him, and he never wanted to live without that feeling. When she'd gone pliant in his arms, he murmured against her mouth. “I love you, Charlotte.”
Her eyes shot open, misting from tears. “Oh.”
Music to his ears. He smiled. “Back to one word. I'm doing it right.”
Charlotte pushed him at the tease, but she laughed. Her shoulders shook and her eyes lit. “Okay. I love you, too, Adam Carpenter.”
“The best words.” His throat was tight, so he kissed her again since talking wasn't all that important anyway.
The longer the kiss lasted, the more heat sluiced into his every limb. It didn't take long for him to drag her inside. Five days since he'd seen her, touched her, tasted her. It had felt like forever. His need thrummed through him, but he pulled away.
“Don't think this is what I wanted when I got the money together,” he said and kissed her again, because Charlotte.
She edged back. “No. You wanted to save the day without putting on a cape, because that's who you are. But since I'm here, you're going to get me naked. You multitask well. One of the many things I love about you.”
He laughed. “I promise to never—”
She put a hand to his mouth, her expression turning serious. “You can't promise me safe. You can't. You can promise me kind, loving, and loyal. You gave that to me, even when I was just some server and you had bloodied my nose.”
He wanted to be the man she saw, and he would be—every day. “I love you. I do.”
“I love you, Adam.” She smiled at him, and it had a shade of mischief at the edges. “Now…what would that little devil on your shoulder do?”
Adam grinned. “Get a ring and get us married before you change your mind.”
She gasped. “What?”
He cupped her face and brushed his lips over her brow. “One word.”
“Yes.” She laughed, and he could feel it in his bones. “How is that for one word?”
“Perfect,” he said. She was warm and soft and his. She shifted closer and his cock stirred. “But now that I've been the good guy…”
She laughed. “Yeah?”
His heart had never felt so light. Adam crooked his finger in her shirt and popped every button. “Let me be bad for a little while.”
The way she smiled let him know that's exactly how she loved him.
BIO
Melissa Blue’s writing career started on a typewriter one month after her son was born. This would have been an idyllic situation for a writer if it had been 1985, not 2004. Eventually she upgraded to a computer. She’s still typing away on the same computer, making imaginary people fall in love.
Where to find me online:
http://www.themelissablu
e.com
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorOfSMR
https://twitter.com/mel_thegreat
Where to sign up for my newsletter to get updates on new releases:
http://eepurl.com/n0RR1
OTHER TITLES BY MELISSA BLUE
UNDER THE KILT SERIES
Under His Kilt
Her Insatiable Scot
Kilted For Pleasure
Kilt Tease
Scot Appeal-Coming Soon
#DIRTYSEXYGEEKS SERIES
To One Hundred- Jan. 7th, 2016
Down To Ash – Coming Soon