Inheritance Goals: A Sports Romance

by McKenna James

  “One other thing, Bryce. Stay away from Clarissa.” Gus turned away and looked out the window at the practice field. I suddenly felt like the lone man on an island. I’d lost the team, possibly my starting position, my friendship to both Gus and Clarissa. All because I wanted to be closer to Madison. I didn’t see any way to make it work without someone getting hurt.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Madison

  “Good evening, Miss Charles,” Frank said and opened the door. He’d recognized me last week when I visited Bryce for the fifth straight night. Bryce said Frank was a good guy and had been with the hotel for nearly ten years. Bryce tipped him well, and in return Frank didn’t talk about Bryce’s personal life or about his visitors. Nobody talked about Bryce’s personal life, it seemed. He did well to live life out of the spotlight.

  “Hey, Frank. How’s the wife?” I asked. Bryce said to always ask about Frank’s wife.

  “Her diabetes is acting up. I keep telling her to see a doctor. She thinks it’s too expensive. Says she can manage it on her own.” Frank stood almost six-six and weighed at least 300 pounds. His pay sucked, but he enjoyed his job.

  “Tell you what,” I said as I removed a business card from my purse. “Give me a call tomorrow, and I will refer her to my personal physician. The Hurricanes will cover the bill.” I nodded when he started to protest. “It’ll be okay.”

  I headed to the elevator. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out what was going on between Bryce and me. Frank had to know.

  I knocked on Bryce’s penthouse suite, and he came to the door with a towel around his waist and his hair soaked. “Welcome to my castle,” he said in a poor Dracula rendition.

  “Frank knows,” I said, reminding him of how much our clandestine meetings were becoming more public.

  Bryce closed the door behind me and immediately scooped me into his arms. He smelled freshly clean, the lotion he’d put on his face carrying a lavender scent. “How’s the love of my life?” he asked.

  “You smell like a girl,” I said and laughed.

  “It relaxes me.”

  “Because of the day you had?” I asked.

  “You heard?”

  “From several people,” I said. “After I saw it on video.”

  “Forgot about that,” he said.

  I guess maybe I had not considered how the other players would view Bryce if they got even a whiff of us being close. I assumed they were all so wrapped up in their own lives and their own egos they wouldn’t have time to gossip, but then they began acting like a bunch of old biddies.

  “What are we going to do, Bryce?” I asked. “Meeting at a hotel every night? We can’t keep doing this.”

  Bryce took a seat on the couch next to the window that looked out over Orlando. In the distance, Hurricane Stadium loomed. “To be honest, I never expected any of this,” he said. “When I found out you were being given a full-time job, and then made owner, I wanted nothing more than to get back at you for walking away.” He stood and walked to the window.

  “And I don’t fault you for that,” I said. “I’m trying, Bryce. The last thing I expected was for us to be in this situation. I figured you’d hate me and we wouldn’t have to worry about falling in love again.”

  “That what we are doing?” He walked around the room before stopping at the mini-bar, where he made us each a drink. His body was super-hot in the shadows of the room. He approached with the drinks, and my heart sped. “You sure you want to do this?”

  “As complicated as it is, yes. I want this and more.” I took the drink, hoping it would ease the growing tension. “We have to figure out how to manage this.”

  Bryce finished his drink in one large gulp and returned to the couch, his towel coming loose so that I could see between his legs. He noticed me looking, and a smile raced across his face. He patted his legs.

  I lifted my skirt as Bryce removed his towel. “Hard to manage the situation if you’re always like that,” I said and straddled him. He placed both hands against my face and gracefully stroked my skin, his cock growing against me.

  “Didn’t happen until you entered the room,” he said. “Every time, Mads.”

  I lowered myself onto him and closed my eyes. Biting my lower lip, I opened my eyes to find him staring at me. The beauty in his eyes told of his love. The strength of his hands around my hips told of his protection.

  “I’ve missed this,” he said.

  “I was here last night,” I said and moved my hips in small circles, savoring the feel of him inside me.

  He slowly unbuttoned my blouse, brushing it off my shoulders and arms, caringly laying it across the couch. “You’re pretty fucking hot, young lady,” he said. He then pulled me close, reaching around me and unsnapping my bra, laying it next to the blouse.

  “And you make me pretty fucking wet, young man.” I leaned back, enjoying his exploring hands, watching his fingers caress my nipples, the way his hands cupped my breasts, his mouth moving in, his tongue licking one nipple and then the other. Slowly yet salaciously, he devoured me, his mouth rising and falling with my movements atop him. “I missed you, Bryce,” I said.

  “You were here last night,” he whispered.

  We made love on the couch, me feeling every inch of him sliding out and then slipping back inside. He was intentional with his movements, shifting me forward as he was sliding out, moving me back as he entered.

  I placed my hands on Bryce’s flexing shoulders, the two of us in a rhythmic sexual dance. His hands sailed down my back, grasping my ass, his fingers teasing between my cheeks. Our movements suddenly hurried, my breathing quick and heavy.

  “Nice,” I moaned.

  Bryce moaned as well, and his face went to my breasts, his mouth opening, hungrily feeding off my movements. “Fuck, Madison.”

  I felt it in my soul, the sensation of being carried away, of being lifted into the clouds. I closed my eyes and let it come to me, letting Bryce fuck me harder, our skin slapping violently. One hand released my ass, the hand finding its way to my neck. Not in a violent way, but in a way that said I belonged to him. Bryce’s hand tightened, sending sharp, erotic spasms through my quivering body. I came atop him, feeling his warm jets releasing inside me.

  Our movements slowed, but we refused to stop, instead choosing to mix our juices. Bryce leaned forward, and I wrapped my legs around him, knowing he was about to lift me off the couch. He did exactly as I assumed, moving me across the room, his cock still inside me, taking me to the bedroom.

  “I need you,” I said.

  Bryce managed to move us to the bed without ever leaving me, his body hovering over me, his elbows resting on the bed on either side of me. He didn’t stop, instead blissfully making love to me despite our spent energy. “You need what?” he asked.

  “I need you to stay inside me.”

  When our lips came together, I wrapped my legs around him once again, my heels digging into his ass. I never wanted to let go. I wanted to forget all that had happened in our past. And, for a brief time, I wanted to forget I was the owner of a professional football team. Everything turned over to Bryce to do as he pleased.

  Neither of us came again, but we were determined to stay connected. Bryce rolled to my side but kept his arms around me, making me roll with him. Facing each other, he moved my hair back away from my face. The love I never thought I would find again had returned. Despite all the obstacles and, in spite of those obstacles, we were determined to make our relationship work.

  “Incredible,” I said and moved my leg between his. His hand dropped to my ass and squeezed.

  “I can never let go again,” he said. “Physically or emotionally. You understand that, right?”

  I nodded, his stare holding me speechless. I ran my fingertips along his lips and then kissed him again, hungrily, as if it would never happen again. “I want you to come over tomorrow night,” I said. “I want you to stay with me at my house and in my bed.”

  “You know I’d love
to,” he said. “But isn’t Gus always stopping by?”

  Something on his face gave me pause. “He’s out of town for the rest of the week,” I said. “What?”

  “What?” he asked and then seemed to realize I knew something was up. “Gus really cares about you. He told me to stay away.”

  “Our personal lives are beginning to interfere with our business lives,” I said. “How do we stop that from continuing? We obviously can’t stop our feelings.”

  “Fuck, Madison, I don’t know.” He moved from the bed and, in the shadow of night, walked naked to the window. He had a cute ass and broad shoulders, a smile that belonged in a TV commercial. “Why couldn’t you have just fired me?”

  Of course I’d thought about it. “Are you requesting a trade?” I asked jokingly.

  Bryce turned, his smile gone. He shrugged. “If it’ll fix the situation. Sure.”

  “No f-ing way,” I said. “You earned us that trophy. I’m not trading you.”

  “Only way out of this. I can’t stop seeing you.” He turned and crossed his arms, his cock limp but long.

  “I think I may know what to do,” I said, believing I could come up with a plan. I slipped from the bed and went to the other room, dressing and grabbing my purse.

  Bryce entered the room, his arms out to his sides. “What?”

  “My house. Tomorrow night at eight,” I said and left him standing almost the way I found him.

  ***

  I spent most of the next day writing down ideas, marking out the ones that made no sense or were undoable. Bottom line, there were only two options, neither of which I liked: I resign, which wasn’t going to happen, or Bryce was traded.

  I flipped a page and wrote a list of reasons to stay with Bryce, despite the consequences, and circled the most important: I loved him. My critical mistake was not re-engaging our relationship. My mistake was falling madly in love with him again.

  “Hey, May,” I said when she entered my office. “Everything okay?” The look on her face said nothing was okay.

  “I don’t want to sound like a tattletale, but there’s something I think you need to know,” May said and sheepishly took a seat in front of me.

  I moved from the desk and closed the office door. Instead of sitting behind the desk, I sat in the chair next to May. “What is it?”

  She looked toward the closed door. “I was in the restroom. Clarissa came in talking to someone on her phone. I lifted my legs.” She smiled and shrugged.

  “She’s supposed to be out of town with Gus,” I said.

  “She backed out at the last minute. Told Gus she had a family emergency,” May said. “She was talking to a man. I could hear his voice, but not really understand what he was saying.”

  “Bryce?” I asked.

  May shook her head. “I don’t think so. The voice wasn’t that deep.” She shifted in the chair, nervous. “They were talking about taking pictures of you.”

  I sat back and felt a blanket of dread fall over me.

  “She and whoever she was talking to are trying to keep tabs on you. They’ve been following you.” May leaned forward and placed her hand on my knee. “I’m sorry, sweetie.”

  It felt as if I’d been punched in the stomach. I’d never considered the fact someone may want to follow me or Bryce. If we were ever caught it would be by accident. “Thank you, May.”

  “Can I say something that may sound improper?” she asked. I nodded. “You understand you have all these people rooting against you?” I nodded again. “Well, you can’t sit around and wait for them to come after you.”

  “Meaning what, May?”

  “Meaning you need to start going after them,” she said.

  My father had not been like that, and I had no plans to be like that either. He managed to run the team ethically and kept negative headlines out of the news. However, things had changed. May was right. “What do you suggest?” I asked.

  She opened her notebook. “You have to ask yourself who are the people most wanting you to fail.” She began writing names on the page: Clarissa, Gus, Trustees, RJ, Bryce.

  “No,” I said. “You can take Bryce off.”

  “I heard Clarissa tell the man that Bryce had a plan to get you fired,” May said.

  I stared at May for a long while and then politely dismissed her.

  ***

  I pulled into the driveway around six, the Orlando afternoon traffic as bad as ever. What plan had Bryce concocted to get rid of me? Seriously? I’d forced myself not to text or call him, ignoring at least four text messages from him. I wouldn’t let him off that easy, asking him by text what the hell was going on.

  But what bothered me the most was that Clarissa had that information. Why had Bryce confided in her with something like that?

  I changed into my swimsuit and sat by the pool with a bottle of wine. I looked around me, at the nice pool, manicured landscaping, the big house made mostly of glass and electronics. The house had been a gift from my father, built by a famous French architect. I could slide walls around inside the house, thereby changing the entire layout. Most people would say I had it all. But I didn’t. I was missing that special someone whom I wanted to come home to. Who I wanted to entrust my life with. I thought that man, at least until then, was Bryce.

  The doorbell rang, and I looked at the remote that controlled the house’s security system. I could see Bryce’s face on the small screen. I waited, letting him ring the bell another three times. Then I pushed another button, and the door opened.

  “I’m out back by the pool,” I said into the remote. My voice boomed through the speakers in the house.

  “Miss me?” Bryce asked when he walked outside. He wore a tee and shorts with the Hurricane emblem on the left leg. He slipped his shoes off, kissed me, and then made himself at home in the chair across from me. I sipped my wine and watched him over my glass. The veins in his biceps bulged.

  “Fuck, now what did I do, Mads?” he asked, guilty as sin.

  “What’s your plan?” I asked.

  Bryce’s eyes narrowed, and he shrugged. “To make this work. You know that.”

  Make him wait. Make him squirm. He’d obviously decided not to go through with his plan, but that didn’t mean I'd let him off the hook. Mad? No, not really. I figured he’d eventually try to get revenge. Him not going through with it showed he’d moved on from the hurt.

  “You’re okay with me being your boss?”

  He shifted in his seat, nervous and confused. “Boss is a little harsh,” he said. He placed his elbows on the table and watched me, doing his best to seduce me and get me in bed.

  “What else should it be called? That's what I am.”

  He moved again, and I found myself enjoying his squeamishness.

  “Okay,” he said. “You’re my boss. I get it.”

  “What was your plan to get me fired?” I asked. I sat my glass on the table. Bryce moved his eyes from my breasts to my eyes. His face turned red, and he cleared his throat.

  “Who told you that?” he asked.

  “So it’s true?”

  “I had a plan but couldn’t go through with it. I didn’t think any of this would work, Mads.” He leaned forward and tried to hold my hand. I pulled away, leaving him stunned.

  “Tell me about your plan, Bryce.”

  “Seriously?” he asked, and I nodded, crossing my arms and scowling. “I was going to take pictures of us together and then turn them over to a local reporter.”

  “Tabitha Roberts?” I asked. Bryce looked surprised. “I know the two of you dated the year after you were drafted.”

  “It meant nothing,” he said. “Just friends.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” I said. “I don’t care who you’ve been with. What matters is right now. Why didn’t you give her the pictures?” I had replayed the scene in my head a hundred times since May told me what she had heard. By sleeping with Bryce, I’d put my career and the family business in his hands.

  “I was back and
forth about the way I felt. On the one hand, I needed to punish you for walking out. If I had hurt you or done something to deserve it, then maybe I could have forgiven you. But I did nothing. Then, seeing you, touching you, and having you, well, things changed.” He leaned back in his chair and looked toward the pool.

  I should have been pissed. But I wasn’t. Hurt, yes. But I’d also gone back and forth with my feelings, even considered trading him to another team just to get him away from me. “You see what’s happening?” I asked. “The closer we get, the more complicated it all becomes.”

  Bryce shrugged. “I’ll do what I have to,” he said. “I won’t let you get away again, Mads.” He stood and moved around the table. I stood next to him. “Whatever you think it is to keep us together, that’s what I’ll do.”

  Bryce shifted his hand into mine, and we walked to the pool. “We have to keep it hidden,” I said.

  “For how long?” he asked.

  I dropped his hand and removed my swimsuit before wading into the pool naked. “Make love to me,” I said. “No more talk tonight of hiding things or losing each other.” Bryce quickly undressed, and I watched by the edge of the pool as his tight muscular form dipped beneath the water.

  Bryce waded toward me and lifted me to the edge and spread my legs. I ran my fingers through his wet hair, our eyes locked. He moved away and up the stairs. Stepping from the water, he grabbed a towel and walked to where I sat. He handed me the towel and then dove into the deep end. Bryce loved eating pussy.

  The lights beneath the water showed his hard body, his stiff cock pointing toward the bottom of the pool. He emerged in front of me, my legs still spread. A brief smile crossed his face, hunger in his eyes.

  I laid back and placed my head atop the towel. The stars watched. The moon stared. The trees around the yard swayed in the summer breeze.