Second Dive: A Second Chance Sports Romance (Kings Of The Water Book 3)

by Jasmin Miller

  And then he leans down to kiss me. Really kiss me. With a desperation that borders on pain, but there’s also wonder. Did I really get lucky and got the man back I’ve loved for most of my life? The one I let go so he can achieve his dreams while I was never truly capable of letting him go? Imagining him by my side makes my eyes burn.

  The urgency between us grows—our kisses becoming sloppier—as his hand moves between us, rubbing me, filling me until I come so hard, I see stars and cling to his arms for dear life.

  “Holy shit.”

  Noah chuckles. “You can say that again. I almost came from watching you.”

  Heat rushes up my neck.

  “So hot.” Noah tilts my chin so he can capture my mouth, sucking on my lower lip before biting it and sending a surge of electricity straight to between my legs.

  What the heck? How does my body have any energy left after that crazy orgasm?

  We shift around so Noah shields me from the water while I’m leaning against the wall. His lips don’t leave mine until he makes a slow descent down my throat, kissing down my scar before cupping one breast and taking my nipple into his mouth. Another moan escapes my throat. This man is like a miracle worker with my body, knowing exactly what gets me going.

  And thank goodness we had our safe sex talk, where he demanded to be tested, so he can show me he’s clean—I did the same—and I told him that I have an IUD, so we’re good to have sex without a barrier between us. Because that’s how I want things between us, without a barrier in every aspect of life.

  And right now, I want him inside of me.

  After pulling his face to mine, I plunge my tongue into his mouth. Noah growls in response and lifts me up with his hands on my butt. When he finally pushes inside, I gasp at the divine feeling. His pace is relentless, the desperation noticeable in his movements, and I love it. Knowing that he lets himself go like this with me is an incredible turn-on.

  When I feel him swell inside of me, I’m right on the edge with him. A few more thrusts and I’m done for, another exquisite orgasm trembling through my body as he pulsates inside of me.

  Noah leans his forehead against mine as we both try to steady our ragged breathing.

  He steals a soft kiss from my lips before studying me. “Do you think you can stand?”

  I chuckle. “I’m not sure but I can try.”

  He slowly puts me down, not letting go of me.

  I never want him to let go of me.

  Because I can, I step forward and wrap my arms around him, hugging him hard.

  Noah returns the gesture and engulfs me with his strong arms. He rests his head on mine and plants a gentle kiss on my forehead. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you so much too.” I squeeze him tighter, knowing exactly how he feels. Being with him, hearing his heartbeat under my ear, it feels like a gift. That it was worth going through everything I did, that all the decisions I made were the right ones, no matter how painful they were. Because I’m here—alive—with Noah.

  A shudder runs through me when the water gets colder, and we step apart to adjust the temperature before we wash up. Even though I keep getting distracted by Noah in all his nakedness right in front of me. How is anyone supposed to focus with all that sexiness on display?

  Noah taps my nose with his finger and laughs. “I’ll leave so you can finish up in peace.”

  I nod, my eyes dropping to his firm butt when he steps out of the shower.

  “Remember I have a surprise for you.”

  “Okay.”

  I have absolutely no clue what kind of surprise he could possibly have for me. The way I look at it, I already got the best surprise, the best present, by having him back in my life. And by having his love when I thought I’d never be on the receiving end of something so monumental ever again.

  I’m exactly where I want to be, and I’m not planning on going anywhere.

  Thirty-Eight

  Noah

  Surprising Chloe might be my new favorite thing.

  She’s been this energetic and nervous bouncy ball next to me, and it’s been a blast to watch.

  When I turn into the parking lot at the hospital, she looks at me. “My surprise is at the hospital?”

  The confused look on her face is adorable, and all I want to do is pull her into my arms, and kiss her senseless. But that would lead to other things, because I can’t get enough of this woman. If it was up to me, we’d be spending the next week locked in the bedroom. Which really isn’t the right thing to think about because it makes my dick move behind my zipper.

  And just like that, my mind is all too happy to jump back to the shower we took earlier. The sex. Her hands and mouth on me, the moment I sank deep inside of her. Completely bare. It felt even more intense than before, now that we both know where we stand with each other. Now that we know this is it. For real this time, and forever. She’s mine, always has been, always will be.

  Focus.

  “Yup.” I grin at her and hop out of the car once I’m parked. When I make it to her door, she’s still in her seat. “Come on, lazy butt.”

  She huffs and gets out but doesn’t complain when I pull her close. Unable to help myself, I dip my head and give her a kiss. What I didn’t expect, is her reluctance to let go of me as she nibbles on my bottom lip instead. My hands wander down her back until I reach her ass. After giving it a firm squeeze, I pull her pelvis as close to mine as possible. We both groan in response and pull apart when a car drives by close to us.

  Talk about an inappropriate location for a public display of affection like this.

  The last thing I need is us getting banned from the grounds by security.

  But it’s incredibly hard to stay away from her—pun totally not intended.

  Chloe’s blush is creeping up her neck and face. “Oops.”

  I laugh and sling my arm over her shoulders. She fits perfectly, something I’ve always enjoyed. We get into the elevator, and I push the button for the third floor. Chloe frowns but stays quiet, definitely more relaxed now after our make-out session than before.

  When the doors open, I take her hand and pull her after me.

  The group of people in front of us turns and yells, “Surprise.”

  Chloe gasps next to me, her free hand flying to her mouth.

  Thank goodness the outpatient clinic is closed on weekends or this probably wouldn’t have been possible. Thankfully, we’ve had some great staff helping us pull this off.

  Chloe’s mom and uncles, Eadie, my sister, as well as most of my—now our—friends are smiling at us before they step aside to allow Chloe a good look at the wall behind them. The wall that showcases her beautiful mural, her beautiful finished mural.

  My stomach is tight in knots, maybe a little nervous she’ll be mad that we finished it, that I set all of this in motion. Maybe I overstepped after all and should have left it alone?

  But when she was supposed to rest after her procedure, all she wanted to do was get up because she needed to finish the mural. With me leaving her hanging, and Hunter being occupied too, things haven’t quite gone as fast as she’d hoped, and I wanted to take the weight off her shoulders. Make up for the delay I was partially responsible for.

  With everyone’s help, we got the task done in no time, especially since Chloe did all of the major work anyway by drawing and outlining everything in the first place. All we had to do was color it in.

  “You did all of this?” Chloe’s big eyes are on me, her fingernails biting into my arm.

  “Everyone helped.” I face her, needing to make sure this was okay. “Are you mad?”

  Her eyes widen even more. “Mad? How could I be mad about this? I think this is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me. Thank you so much.”

  “Anything for you. We all wanted to help and thought we could celebrate you today. Everyone’s so happy all of your tests went well.” My throat clogs up and I pinch my lips together.

  She goes up on her toes and gives me
a tight hug before walking over to say hi to everyone and to look at the work we did. I stand back and take in the scene in front of me. Chloe laughing and receiving hugs. My friends showing her what we did, and Chloe oohing and aahing over all of it, and throwing a thumbs-up in my direction that makes me laugh.

  Hard to believe that this is my life.

  That she’s finally mine—again.

  Am I scared shitless about our outlook on life together and what role her health will play in it? Hell, yes.

  But I can’t let that fear run my life. Just the thought of having to let her go—or not having her at all like my nightmare depicted so brutally—is unimaginable to me. It makes my insides churn so much that I’m afraid I might never recover from the repercussions of going down that path, even if it was only theoretical.

  I’d go through all the pain again, all the loneliness in the last decade, if it brought me to this point where I know it was all worth it. Things might not always work out the first time around, but if they’re meant to be, life will make a full circle, and throw you right back into it. All you need to do is hang on, and for the ride to take you where you’re supposed to go.

  When the whole group leaves the hospital a short while later, I can’t stop staring at Chloe’s beautiful smile. All of the work this last week, sneaking away from her to go painting at the hospital without her knowing anything about it, was so worth it.

  Chloe’s excited we’re moving the party to the Parrot Lounge, and the whole drive over, she’s either squeezing my hand or my leg, telling me how beautiful the mural looked. There’s so much awe in her gaze, so much radiance I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fully comprehend what it means to be in her shoes.

  But what I can—and will—do is to be right beside her, the whole entire time.

  When I get out of the car, Chloe’s phone rings and she answers it while I walk around the car and wait on the sidewalk, watching her through the car window. That’s the reason why I don’t miss a single second of her expression shifting. From wary to friendly, to confused, and then absolute elation.

  The smile on her face is so wide, I grin like a damn fool myself, even though I have no clue what’s going on.

  Chloe nods, and nods some more, words flying out of her mouth until she finally ends the call, gets out of the car and jumps into my arms with a shriek.

  “I did it. I got the deal.” Her words are muffled because she buried her face halfway into my neck, but they’re clear enough for me to understand.

  I lean back so I can see her face. “The young adult book deal?”

  She nods, her eyes shining, her smile bright.

  “Fuck, yes. I knew you’d get it. Your illustrations were killer. They would have been idiots not to pick you.”

  She laughs and smashes her lips to mine. “I love you so much.”

  Our teeth clash while we’re acting out another inappropriate PDA moment but I couldn’t care less. Telling her I love her doesn’t feel enough sometimes, and I rather enjoy showing her how much she means to me. And it makes Chloe happy which in turn, makes me happy.

  It’s what I live for, what I’ve waited for a whole decade.

  I spin her around, eliciting a few more squeals from the woman I love.

  I’m not a hundred percent sure what our future will hold for us, but for now there’s only one thing that’s important, to have her right where she belongs.

  With me, in my arms.

  Epilogue

  Noah

  Two years later

  I open the passenger door of my truck and throw my duffel bag on the seat, stealing a quick glance at the list I made for today, even though I’ve got it memorized.

  Pick up food from Chloe’s favorite vegan restaurant.

  Stop by the flower store to buy flowers for Chloe.

  Obtain documents from Mrs. Schuster.

  Number three gets a huge mental checkmark since I already did that before my training this morning. Now I only need to make a couple stops for the food and flowers, and I’m good to go.

  I’m just about to open my door to hop in, when quick, small footsteps slap across the asphalt.

  “Coach. Hey, Coach. Wait for me.”

  I watch Timmy—who hates his real name Timothy—run toward me, his mom several feet behind him. He’s one of the little ones I teach a few times a week, and my grin spreads as I crouch down to meet him.

  He’s seven but a bit on the smaller side for his age. That doesn’t keep him from carrying his huge blue duffel with all of his swim stuff though. In fact, he insists.

  “What’s up, buddy?”

  He stops in front of me, starting to talk before he even caught his breath.

  Mix that with his two upper front teeth missing, and I don’t understand a word.

  “Slow down, Timmy. I didn’t quite catch that.”

  He gulps in huge breaths of air until his breathing slows down and then tries again. “Can we do some more diving next week for the rings in the deep water? I really liked that. I got almost all of the rings you threw in. My mom said I did a really great job.”

  His mom finally makes her way up to us and chuckles. “Sorry, Noah. He was so excited about it and took off when he saw you.”

  “It’s no problem at all.” I focus back on Timmy. “I bet we can do that if we have some time left at the end of our lesson. I’m sure we can talk Mr. Ryan into it too for the open swimming class on Sunday. If you can make it.”

  Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that without talking to his mom first.

  “Awesome.” He gives me a happy smile, and I stand up and ruffle his hair.

  “You did great today. All the hard work is paying off.”

  “Thanks.”

  He gives me a high five before we say goodbye, and I make my way out of the parking lot of the new aquatic center—the Majestic Aquatic Center, to be exact. Since we couldn’t name it Kings of The Water aquatic center, we named it the next best thing. Thank goodness we had our women help us with their fantastic thesaurus skills.

  This way, Hunter can join us too when he retires and feels like it. Especially now that he’s settled down too.

  Thankfully, the pit stops at the stores are quick, because I’m ready to spend the rest of the day with Chloe, preferably in bed, and in our birthday suits.

  When I park in the garage of our home we moved into last year, I take a deep breath. It’s a big day today. So much to be grateful for, so much to celebrate.

  After taking care of my duffel bag, I place the food on the kitchen counter, still holding on to the flowers and the envelope as I go in search of my wife.

  I take the stairs two at a time, walking past several closed bedroom doors until I’m at our master bedroom. Chloe did most of the interior decorating and everything looks amazing. The rooms are kept neutral with a few color accents.

  And there she is. On the bed. In some skimpy lingerie—her almost-naked ass begging for my hands—completely distracted by her pencil and drawing pad.

  Fuck, she’s sexy. A pure vision of a goddess.

  My goddess.

  When I cross the threshold, her head snaps up. “Ah, dang it. I didn’t hear you come home. I’m so sorry.”

  I chuckle, my gaze roaming over her body as she puts her supplies on the nightstand. “Why? Did you have something special planned?”

  Her hand does a quick sweep alongside her body, and I lick my lips. “I thought I was going to strike a special pose for you in all of this glory?”

  “I like it.” And how could I not? It’s a few scraps of black fabric that beautifully wrap up some of her gorgeous assets.

  “Thanks.” She pushes her newly dyed purple hair out of her face and points her finger toward my hand. “Are those for me?”

  I nod and hand her the blue iris bouquet. When I went to her mom last year to tell her about my plan to ask Chloe to marry me, she told me to get some blue iris. Chloe was over the moon, smiling and crying until she finally put me out of my misery and
said yes. Then she told me the flowers mean hope, something we both have plenty of for our future.

  Chloe smells the bouquet, inhaling deeply with her eyes closed. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

  “You’re beautiful. Happy anniversary, babe.”

  She gives me one of her breathtaking smiles. “Happy anniversary.”

  I sit down on the edge of the bed next to her and lean her way to capture her lips in one hell of a kiss. It’s deep and slow until one of her hands grabs a fistful of my shirt to pull me closer. A chuckle escapes my mouth as I pull back to look at her.

  “I’ve got something else.” I wiggle the envelope between us, watching her excited expression turn wary.

  “What is it?”

  “Why don’t you open it to find out?”

  Chloe doesn’t need to be asked twice. She takes the envelope from me and lifts the flap so she can pull out the stack of papers. I watch her as her eyes move over the words, page by page, as she goes through a myriad of expressions, her face an open book on how much the content affects her.

  When she gets to the last page, she sniffles, and looks at me with shiny eyes. “Is this for real?”

  I nod, swallowing past the thickness in my throat at seeing her so emotional and also feeling the full impact of what those papers mean to us.

  “Oh my gosh.” She tosses the papers on the nightstand before throwing herself at me. “I can’t believe we’re officially foster parents.”

  “I know.”

  She’s only a couple of inches away from my face, and I’m fascinated by the spark in her eyes. “Wow.”

  “Yeah. Wow.”

  We’ve been talking about children for a while now, not about having any ourselves, because I respect Chloe’s decision in that aspect and understand her reasoning.

  But once we decided we’re interested in fostering, we saw a psychologist, which was incredibly helpful for us individually and as a couple. We grieved together that we’d never have our own biological child, because that shit hurts. For both of us.