by L A Cotton
I didn’t want to stop. I wanted him to keep kissing me. But he was right, after the conversation earlier, we needed to talk.
He pressed a tender kiss to my lips before taking my hand and leading me to the couch. “Sit,” he said, and I dropped down beside him. JB smoothed his thumb over the curve of my hand, settling the nervous energy rattling inside me.
“I didn’t see you coming, you know?” The words were barely a whisper. “It’s complicated and there are a hundred reasons why this, us, probably shouldn’t work, but I want it to, Summer.” His eyes flicked to mine. “I don’t want this to have an expiration date just because I’m going back to San Diego.”
“I don’t want it to either.”
“So, we don’t let it.”
“We don’t?” He made it sound so simple, but the odds were stacked against us.
He turned into me, sliding his hand against my cheek. “I want you, Summer. I want to call you mine.”
His.
I liked the sound of that.
“I’d like that,” I said around a smile, despite the war going on between my heart and head.
“I know it won’t be easy, but San Diego is less than a ninety-minute drive, so I can come back on by weeks and you can come visit.”
“Wow, you have this all planned out, don’t you?”
His expression sobered. “I’m moving too fast.” He scrubbed his face.
“No,” I said. “It’s just... wow.”
“My mom said some stuff to me earlier and it got me thinking about whether or not I should save you more heartache down the road by breaking this off before we both get too deep. But I realized, I can’t walk away. Maybe that makes me selfish or whatever, but if this thing ends it won’t be because of me. It won’t be because I walked away.”
The intensity in his words was breathtaking. JB Holloway wanted me. Despite the circumstances of how we met, despite the differences between our families, he wanted me. And he was prepared to choose me.
I didn’t know what to say.
The thought of JB leaving terrified me. I’d come to depend on him in a way I knew probably was unhealthy. I didn’t want to be the girl sitting around waiting for her boyfriend while he went off and lived his life, but I didn’t want to lose him either.
“We can make this work, Summer. Just give me a chance, please.”
“Yes.” The word spilled out before I could consider the implications... the consequences.
I’d always lived my life in the confines of people’s perception of me. Shy, sweet, Summer Stone-Prince. I didn’t take risks or cross the line. I didn’t keep my parents up at night worrying about where I was or what I was doing. I was the innocent sibling. The one who didn’t break the rules or cause any family drama. But JB made me want to shed that skin. He made me want to take risks and chase my dreams. And, after everything, I needed that. I needed to spread my wings and try new things, to learn who I was outside of Nick and my brothers and my family.
JB crushed his mouth against mine, his tongue pushing deep inside my mouth, swirling with my own, igniting a firestorm inside my tummy.
“I want you,” I said between his hard, bruising kisses.
He went still, edging away to look at me. “Summer, there’s no rush...”
“I know.” I hooked my arm around his neck. “But I’m ready.”
“You’re sure? I mean after...”
“I’m sure.”
It wasn’t being with JB that scared me, it was not being with him. I needed him in a way I couldn’t explain. It was visceral.
Soul-deep.
And I knew if he didn’t give me what I so desperately wanted, there was every chance I would combust.
I got up first, offering my hand to JB. He swallowed, eyes fixed on my face, swimming with lust. We walked down the hall to the bedroom in thick silence, nothing but the tick-tock of the wall clock and the ba-boom of my heart pounding in my chest. Once we were inside the bedroom, I released his hand and started slowly stripping out of my clothes. JB cussed under his breath, wide eyes drinking in every inch of my skin. I liked feeling his heavy gaze on me, knowing I was turning him on.
“Come here.” He crooked his finger at me, and I went to him, gasping when he brushed my hair over one shoulder and dipped his head to suck the skin along my collarbone. His lips trailed lower over the lacy shell of my bra, drawing my peaked nipple into his mouth.
“Oh god...” I breathed, anchoring my hands at his shoulders, my knees weak and body on fire.
JB didn’t rush. He took his time acquainting himself with every curve, every dip and blemish. He fingers walked up my spine until he was cupping the back of my neck, guiding my mouth to his. “Do you feel it?” he asked against my lips.
“Yes,” I cried out, knowing he didn’t mean his hands on my skin or his erection pressed up against my stomach. He meant the chemistry, the inexplicable connection between us. It shimmered around us, twisting and tightening.
Fusing us together.
It was thrilling and terrifying and completely unexpected. But I knew without doubt, I didn’t want to say goodbye to it.
To him.
“What do you want, Summer?” His hot breath danced across my skin as he dragged his tongue up the curve of my neck. “Tell me what you want.”
“You, I want you.” My fingers curled into the hair at the base of his neck.
A guttural growl rumbled in his chest as he scooped me against him and carried me to the bed. We landed in a tangle of limbs and kisses but JB quickly eased back, his eyes grazing over me. “You’re sure?”
I nodded. Too drunk on him, on the sensations coursing through me, to give him a proper answer. He leaned back, dragging his t-shirt over his head. His jeans and socks went next, and finally his tight black boxer briefs. The second my eyes landed on his thick erection, I felt myself blush from my head to my toes.
“You’re not going shy on me now, are you, Angel?” He smirked.
Feeling brave, I sat up and grasped him with my hand.
“Fuck,” he choked out, his head falling back, as I pumped him slowly. I couldn’t resist dipping my head and licking him, but JB pounced on me, flattening me against the mattress.
“Did I do something wrong?” I frowned up at him.
“You did everything right, but I don’t want this to be over before it gets started and I need to feel you, Summer. I need to feel you so fucking bad.”
He pressed into me, his hard length nudging my entrance. “Condom,” I rasped, barely able to think straight with all of him touching all of me.
“I know,” he kissed the corner of my mouth. “I just want to feel you, just for a second.” He reached between us, grasping himself, and rubbed my clit with the tip of his erection.
“JB,” I gasped, tiny bolts of pleasure shooting through me. He smiled against my mouth.
“Don’t move,” he said, climbing off me to retrieve a condom from his wallet. JB rolled it on before covering my body once more. This time when he nudged my entrance he didn’t stop. Hooking his hand under my thigh he pushed deeper, my cries filling the room.
“You feel... amazing,” he groaned, burying his face in the crook of my neck. “Are you okay?” JB pulled back to meet my eyes.
“Yes, it feels...”
“I know.” His eyes shuttered as he pulled out and rolled forward again. “Fuck.” He grabbed my other thigh, dragging my legs around his waist, moving harder. Faster.
“I want to go slow, but I don’t think I—”
“It’s okay, I want this. I want you.” Anyway, I could get him.
JB’s pace quickened, his thrusts more powerful, as he hurtled us toward the edge. Our kisses grew clumsy, frantic, and messy. All teeth and tongue, a drunken dance of pure unadulterated lust.
“More,” I cried, dragging my nails down his back. “I need...”
He kissed me, plunging his tongue into my mouth, mirroring the way he pistoned his hips against mine. “Come for me, Angel,” JB
commanded, pushing me right off the edge with one final thrust. “Summer,” he moaned my name over and over as he jerked inside me, riding his own wave of pleasure.
With slow, lazy licks, JB ran his tongue along my jaw to my mouth, kissing me deeply. “That was everything.”
I knew exactly what he meant. We’d fallen for each other at the Bay but being together like this had bonded us in a way I hadn’t seen coming. And although it was too fast, too soon, I could already feel his name etched on my heart.
“Are you okay?” he asked, rolling to the side and pulling me close.
“More than okay.” I brushed my lips over his.
“So, we’re really doing this?” There was a hint of uncertainty in his voice, but he had no need to worry because as I stared into his eyes, I knew my answer.
“We’re doing this.”
Chapter 18
JB
I couldn’t get enough of her. Even as she slept, my fingers traced the curve of her hip, her soft silky skin. Summer was beautiful awake, but when she slept, she really did remind me of an angel. Still, I couldn’t help the lingering pinch of guilt I felt at how quickly things had escalated.
When I’d suggested I come over to talk, I had meant just that. But the second my eyes landed on her; I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk away. Ours paths were entwined now and I didn’t want to cut loose. Even if it meant going against her brother.
Even if it meant going against my old man.
“JB?” Her sleepy voice was like a siren’s call, awaking parts of me that should have been too exhausted to stand to attention.
“I’m right here.” I tucked her body closer into mine, resting my chin in the hollow between her shoulder and neck.
“You’ll stay, right?”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” And it was the truth.
If we were doing this, I intended on spending every available second with Summer before I had to return to San Diego.
She began to stretch beside me and then her blue eyes were fixed on me. “What time is it?”
“Late or early, depending on how you look at it.”
“Can’t you sleep?”
“Not yet.” I was too wired.
“Will you tell me about college, the team?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” she sighed, snuggling closer.
“Well, you already know I’m the starting quarterback for the Sabres and that I’m studying a Kinesiology degree. I live with three of my teammates, Jenson, Michael, and Zac, in a house just off-campus. It’s pretty sweet, there’s a pool and the bedrooms all have their own bathrooms which is a bonus.”
“It sounds nice.”
I edged back, cupping Summer’s chin to pull her face to mine. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, go on.”
“There isn’t really much more to say. Practice takes up most of my spare time, and I tend to hang out with the team.”
“I bet you have some wild parties.”
“It happens, but usually it’s just the team and some of the cheerleaders hanging out at the house.”
Summer stiffened in my arms and I silently cursed myself for mentioning the cheerleaders. But if we were going to do this, she needed to accept my life at college. And being the team’s star player and QB, cheerleaders kind of came with the territory.
Rolling Summer onto her back, I hovered over her. “You have nothing to worry about.” I brushed my nose against hers.
“I’ve never done this, JB.” Her voice had gone small again. “Nick wasn’t an athlete in school. He wasn’t popular or in the limelight. Right now? It’s simple. It’s just you and me. But soon, I’ll have to share you with all your adoring fans.” Her lip curved at that. “And I get it, I do. But I’m just trying to figure out where I fit.”
“I’m over all that. The parties, the one-night stands.” She flinched when I said the words but we both had a past, and I already knew hers. “I want to focus on playing the best season of my life, and on you.”
“And everyone else?”
“Who cares what everyone else thinks? I’m not saying it’ll be easy being away from one another, but I at least want to give it a chance.”
“I do too.” She smiled before pressing her lips to mine. “Just as long as you don’t have any crazy exes waiting in the wings to make my life hell.”
My chest tightened as I forced out a laugh. “You’re my first and only girlfriend,” I said, trying to disguise the tightness to my voice. What I’d had with Sasha didn’t compare to what I had with Summer. Besides, she wasn’t an ex because I’d always made it clear we weren’t official.
“Girlfriend?” The astonishment in her voice was so fucking cute.
“Well, yeah.” I dipped my face to hers. “Unless it’s too soon?”
The hesitation in her eyes told me it probably was too soon but we were past the point of caring. “No, it’s not... I mean...”
“Summer?”
“Yeah.”
“This is the part where you shut up and kiss me.”
Surprise glittered in her eyes but then her lips found mine and everything else—our families, Nick, the team, college, Sasha—melted into oblivion.
THE SOUND OF A CELL phone ringing woke me. “Summer,” I said. “You’re ringing.”
“I am?” Sleep hung heavy in her voice. “What time is it?”
“A little after ten.”
“Ten, crap.” She bolted upright and threw the covers off. “Loretta will be—”
“Good mornin’ Miss Summer,” a strong Latina accent filtered through the pool house.
“Hmm, just a minute.”
I chuckled watching my girl dash around the room pulling on her clothes. When she realized I’d made no effort to move, she paused, her eyes narrowing at me. “Why aren’t you getting dressed? If Loretta—”
“Chances are she already saw my truck out front. She already knows your holed up in here with someone. The way I see it, it could be a lot worse.”
“Oh really?” She planted her hands on her hips.
“Yup.” I folded my arms behind my head. “It could have been your mom or Maverick bursting in here.”
Summer considered my words, her brows knitting together. “Fine,” she conceded. “You’re right, but that still doesn’t mean I want Loretta to come in here and find you lying there looking all...” She smashed her lips together.
“Looking all what, Angel?” I casually pulled the sheet lower so it barely grazed my rock-hard dick.
“Stop it,” she snapped, but I didn’t miss the way her eyes widened or how her skin flushed.
“Maybe you should go lock the door, come back over here, and—”
“Miss Summer?”
“Dammit,” Summer gave me one more lingering look before slipping out of the room. I sank back into the pillows, staring up at the ceiling, as I replayed last night over in my head.
It had been amazing. The way she trusted me with her body, trusted me to take care of her. It wasn’t any wonder I’d barely slept, not wanting to miss a single second of being naked in bed with her.
I heard Summer greet the housekeeper, the two of them engaging in simple conversation, although I couldn’t help the smirk tugging my lips when the housekeeper asked Summer who she was hiding in the bedroom.
“Oh my god.” Summer burst into the room a few minutes later. “I thought she was never going to leave.” She sank against the wall, letting out a sigh of relief. Before she could comprehend what I was doing, I climbed off the bed and stalked toward her. “JB, what are you—”
My hands went either side of her head, caging her in, as I dragged my tongue from the hollow of her neck to her ear. “What time will your parents be home?” I asked huskily.
“I... hmm, I’m not sure. Why?” She sounded a little breathless, and I loved it.
Loved that I affected her that way.
“Because,” I said in a half-growl, half-yawn. “I need inside yo
u again, like right now.”
I FINALLY DRAGGED MYSELF away from Summer’s house around lunchtime. She’d made us tacos and we ate outside under the gazebo. Then I carried her back to the pool house and ate her for dessert.
It was something, watching her blossom, grow in confidence around me. Knowing that I was helping her heal. But my good mood was quickly thwarted when I saw Mom’s car in the driveway as I pulled up at the house.
“JB, is that you?” she called as I made my way to the kitchen.
“Yeah.”
“Care to tell me where you were last night? And please don’t tell me you were at the Stone-Prince girl’s house?”
“Her name is Summer and so what if I was there?”
“Really, JB. You sound like a petulant child.” She fluffed her hair before drumming her nails on the counter. “Your father wanted to know where you were. I told him you were out with some old school friends.”
“I’m not ending it with her,” I said defiantly. “I’m not a child anymore. You can’t dictate who I do or don’t spend time with.”
“I’m not trying to dictate anything,” she replied flippantly. “I’m just making you aware that this could all backfire and your new little friend will end up in the crossfire. Is that what you want?”
“Dad has no reason to go after Summer.”
Mom snorted. “Fine, don’t heed my advice. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when he finds out about this.”
“Whatever,” I grumbled, going to the refrigerator for a beer. It was barely lunchtime, but Mom’s words were in my head again. It was like when I was with Summer, she made all the shit swimming around my head disappear. But the second I left her, doubt crept back in.
Well, screw that. I refused to be a pawn in Dad’s games. He might have intervened with the college President following my injury, but I refused to let him dictate who I could or couldn’t be with.
AFTER MY SESSION WITH The Sadist, I headed straight home. Summer had texted saying her mom was insisting on some girl time, whatever the fuck that meant. Thankfully, the house was empty. Mom was out having cocktails with her friends and Dad was off doing whatever Dad did on an evening. Probably one of his many side pieces.
