The Campus Jock: A College Bad Boy Romance

by Serena Silver

  Chapter Nineteen

  The moon is the only light on the beach as Raul leads Chloe along the shoreline. He is holding onto Chloe’s hand and swinging it as they walk. Chloe is smiling out to the water that brought her to her victory just a few days before.

  “Chloe, I think we need to talk,” Raul says.

  Chloe looks over, feeling like her heart is about to break at the thought that this could very well be the end of her relationship with Raul. She releases his hand and moves to stand in front of him, ready to plead her case that they should give it all a shot.

  “I think,” Raul starts, “that we should keep this going.”

  Chloe’s plan goes out the window. A smile spreads its way across her face as she nods along. Before Raul can really read her face, Chloe turns around and starts walking again.

  “Of course we were going to keep this going. Did you think that after spending all this time with you that I would just go and give up on the first real relationship that I have had in years?”

  Raul watches Chloe’s back as she walks on, and Chloe can feel his gaze. She swings her hips a little more to catch his attention, and it works. Raul comes racing down the beach and hugs onto Chloe from behind.

  “You are a sneaky one,” he whispers.

  “I was hoping the whole time that you wouldn’t end things here.”

  Raul spins Chloe around and makes her look at him. He touches Chloe’s chin lightly, rubbing his knuckles along her jawline.

  “Did you really think that I could just give up on everything that we started building? You are actually the first girl I have ever felt true emotion toward.”

  “Even that first day on the beach?” Chloe asks.

  “Are you going to hold that against me for the rest of our lives?”

  “Is there going to be a rest of our lives?”

  “That will only happen if you play your cards right and love me everyday,” Raul declares.

  “You just had to bring up that word,” Chloe mocks.

  “Of course.”

  Raul stares at Chloe expectantly. She knows that he wants her to tell him that she loves him, but Chloe just wants to watch him worry for a little bit, making him be the first one to tell her that he loves her.

  “Are you going to say it?” Raul impatiently asks.

  “Say what? Perhaps you are asking me to say how wonderful the breeze tonight is or how happy I am to be an Olympic medalist.”

  “I get it, Chloe,” Raul concedes, “I will say it. Chloe, I love you and probably have since I saw you pick up that gun and rescue us all.”

  Chloe beams a huge smile at Raul before giving him a quick peck on the lips. She pulls back quickly and looks down at the sand.

  “It’s my turn,” Chloe whispers, “to say that I love you.”

  “Since when?” Raul gasps.

  “Since you looked at me with your deep brown eyes at the police station.”

  Raul pulls Chloe back to him, hugging her closely.

  “Too bad we won’t be able to tell our children it was love at first sight,” Raul laughs.

  “Who says we are having children together?”

  “Considering you are a teacher; chances are you like kids.”

  “That doesn’t mean I want to raise my own mini, arrogant, Brazilian children. Do you know how many gray hairs I would develop?”

  “They could turn out with your sarcastic mouth and love for putting me down,” Raul admits.

  “Would that really be any better?” Chloe asks.

  “Probably not, but I want to try anyway,” Raul admits.

  Chloe playfully smacks Raul chest and turns her back to him again. She looks out to the water and guides his hands around her waist. Raul lets his head rest on her shoulder.

  “Where would we live?” Chloe asks.

  “We could live here?” Raul tries.

  “Too much violence, and I can’t teach here.”

  “Then, maybe we could live in Minnesota. They have pools, right?”

  Chloe pinches Raul’s arm and leans her head back.

  “Of course they have pools, where do you think I train in the winter?”

  “I thought you were an ice queen impervious to frozen water.”

  “And to think, I fell in love with a cookie that doesn’t have any chocolate chips in it.”

  “What does that mean?” Raul asks.

  “It means; your joke was not that cute or smart.”

  “I am usually smart, though.”

  “Sure,” Chloe mocks.

  Raul squeezes her tighter, making Chloe giggle at his tantrum. It feels right being in his arms and getting to spend her last night in Rio with him.

  “Will you come visit me in Minnesota soon?” Chloe asks.

  “Probably in about three weeks. Need to get everything in order here so that I can leave the country and get a visa.”

  “So technical, it really turns me on,” Chloe jokes.

  “Should I start telling you about how the sun doesn’t revolve around me, but that the Earth revolves around the sun?”

  “Keep talking, Copernicus,” Chloe breathes.

  Raul releases Chloe and breaks into a fit of laughter. She turns around and sees him hunched over, grabbing at his abdomen.

  “Do you really know that guy’s name?”

  “Heliocentricism is nothing to joke about, Raul,” Chloe admonishes.

  “I’m sorry,” Raul says.

  Raul straightens back up and moves closer to Chloe. Her heart is pounding in her chest, knowing that life feels easy around Raul and that she can finally be herself with him.

  Chloe lays her head against Raul’s chest and listens to the beating of his heart. Raul rubs his hands up and down her back, caressing her butt every once in a while. Chloe can feel the air grow thicker around them and her heart beating faster. Then she gets an idea.

  “Are you wearing SpongeBob again?”

  Raul presses himself against Chloe and starts kissing on her neck. She melts into his embrace, loving the way he knows just where to kiss to make her feel beyond amazing.

  “You will just have to wait and see,” Raul murmurs.

  Chloe feels her body grow excited at the prospect of them having sex again. Last time they fell asleep after the massage; this time Chloe plans to make Raul never want her to leave him. She turns around in his grasp and meets Raul eye to eye. Her hands find his belt and undoes it as he keeps eye contact.

  “Last time you didn’t get the chance to have someone play with you until it was time. You get to go first.”

  Chapter Twenty

  One Year Later…

  Chloe spots Raul next to her parents in the stands, waving a poster with her name plastered across it. She speeds up her final stretch, gaining on the man in front of her. Chloe just nearly passes him and takes second as she crosses the finish line. She can hear Raul yelling out over everyone else in the crowd.

  The air feels cold as Chloe walks out of the lake, but it doesn't last long because Raul is right there with a towel. He wraps her up and plants a kiss on her lips. Chloe smiles up at him and wraps her arms around his neck, getting his shirt and shorts wet, too.

  “Who would have thought you were better than male distance swimmers too?” Raul jokes.

  “Well, I wanted to make sure you felt really inferior,” Chloe flirts back.

  “It worked,” Raul admits.

  Chloe is soon pulled from Raul and into the embrace of her parents. They are jumping in a circle and pull Raul into the celebration. They are a happy little bunch until Chloe pulls away to go to the award ceremony.

  It is a swift ceremony, and Chloe is handed her award for second place, causing the loudest cheers of the day to come from the man she loves and her family. Chloe's face turns red because of them, but she has a smile splitting her face open.

  “Congratulations,” Chloe says to the two men on the stage with her.

  They all shake hands, and Chloe descends into the arms the waiting Rau
l. He sets her down after spinning her in a circle. He then immediately drops down onto a single knee in front of her.

  “What are you doing?” Chloe asks.

  “I am about to ask you to marry me.”

  “You better say yes,” Chloe's mother calls from off to the side.

  Chloe laughs and, currently speechless, nods her head in agreement.

  “Can I have a verbal answer please,” Raul jokes.

  He pulls a small box from his pocket and opens it to reveal a diamond encircled by small sapphires. The ring fits perfectly onto Chloe’s finger as she breathes out her answer.

  “Yes, Raul, yes.”

  It doesn't take long for the crowd around them to break into applause and for Chloe to grow instantly embarrassed, but her excitement about the day outweighs everything else.

  “We are going out tonight to celebrate,” Chloe's dad announces.

  Chloe is ignoring him while she hugs onto Raul and plants her own kiss onto his lips. Raul mimics her actions and holds onto her tightly.

  “I suggest we get changed. Wet clothes are not that fun,” Raul laughs.

  Chloe releases her fiancé, and they all head toward the cars. Chloe can't stop looking at the ring on her finger, amazed that just the year before she was winning bronze at the Olympics and now she is engaged to the asshole she met there.

  “You know, Kylie is going to be upset she wasn't here for this,” Chloe admits.

  “True, but I had your dad record it so we can send it to her.”

  “She may still be angry that you did not coordinate this with her schedule.”

  Chloe pulls her wetsuit top down to reveal a bikini top and bottoms. She finishes drying off at the car and slips a pair of shorts and event shirt on. Raul stares at her throughout the process, making Chloe blush.

  “You do know you get to see me for the rest of your life, right?” Chloe mocks.

  “Yet, I still cannot get enough of the love of my life.”

  Chloe hugs Raul and gives him a final kiss on the lips before jumping into the passenger seat of the car.

  “I love you, too,” Chloe chimes.

  Taken

  An Adventure Romance

  Chloe Martel

  Taken

  Copyright 2017 by Chloe Martel

  All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to a person, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: Due to mature subject matter, such as explicit sexual situations and coarse language, this story is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. All sexually active characters in this work are 18 years of age or older, and all acts of a sexual nature are consensual.

  Chapter One

  I couldn’t believe it; the day I was going to become Mrs. Escrow was only a few weeks away. Ever since Johnathan proposed to me, it was like I was living in a dream. All my life, all I ever wanted was to be a wife. It was, after all, a custom in Sunhaven. Girls grew up to be women, and women became homemakers and wives; to rich men if they were lucky. I was one of those lucky ones. My father, George Conyers, was not only a wealthy man, but the governor of Sunhaven. So, no matter what, it was unlikely for me to marry into a common house. I was blessed and very grateful for the life I was granted. That wasn’t to say that somewhere deep inside of me longed for adventure, but I considered myself lucky. My family had started out as one of the greatest merchant families in Sunhaven. My father worked hard and built himself a legacy, eventually creating the first trade agreement between Sunhaven and the rest of the civilized world. After a few years of raising more money for Sunhaven than anyone ever born there, he was elected as governor and ever since has held that position. I must admit, life was much more exciting when he was the owner of his own trading vessel. My mother and I were lucky enough to travel with him to certain locations, but I was very young and don’t remember much of the places we visited. Fortunately, finding the love of my life and planning my wedding had seemed to settle that craving for adventure; at least for the time being. Johnathan was everything I could have asked for in a husband. He was sweet and kind. When he looked at me, I could feel his love. He was the prominent owner of his own set of trading vessels, which he promised to take me on as soon as we were wedded. He spoke much of the world and the culture of places I only learned about in school. Places my father had never been brave enough to travel to. Hearing his stories made me even more excited for the day we would be married, and he would sweep me off to faraway lands. Just thinking about it now was making my heart beat faster. The two of us hadn’t made love yet, as it was unaccustomed for a young lady to lose her virginity out of wedlock. A few girls I knew, including my best friend Connie, had had sex with many men. She told me stories, and while I admit that those stories made my curiosity grow even stronger, Jonathan and I had pledged ourselves to each other, and for him, I would willingly wait.

  “Will that be all, Madame Conyers?”

  I had been so lost in thought I forgot that I was ordering flower arrangements for my wedding. The florist smiled at me as I started slightly.

  “Forgive me,” I said politely.

  “Oh, of course!” The young lady replied. “I understand. I see hundreds of ladies come through here with the same look in their eyes. None as well-known as yourself, of course.”

  I smiled lightly at her. I was used to receiving kind words from the people of Sunhaven. Even if not all of them were honest about what they said. I removed the money from my side purse and handed it to the woman. She took it and glanced at the bill for a moment.

  “Is everything alright?” I wondered.

  The florist looked at the money for one more moment and handed it back to me. I looked at her for a moment, confused as to what the issue was.

  “Everything is wonderful.” She replied. “I wish to do something nice for you, Madame. Your father has been very kind to the citizens of Sunhaven. My family has had the ability to make quite a living because of your family. The least I can do is return the favor in the only way I am able… your flowers for your wedding are free.”

  “That is very kind of you, but I must insist-

  “Nonsense.” The woman replied. “There will be no insisting on your part. I wish to do this for you.”

  I looked at the woman for a moment more. Once I knew she was fully serious, the smile that broke my face was impossible to hide. My cheeks grew rosy, and I looked down at the counter, barely able to contain my excitement.

  “I-I don’t know what to say. Thank you. Thank you so very much! You are a kind and generous woman.”

  “It is my pleasure, dearie. Anything to see a magnificent young lady such as yourself smile.”

  “I promise; my father will hear of this.”

  I left the store, still half expecting to wake up and realize this was all a dream. As I walked out into the beaming warmth of the sun, I glanced around the Sunhaven marketplace. Everything was aglow with a beauty I hadn’t seen before. I smiled as I walked past waving vendors. I listened to the children laughing and running, while their parents called after them. I heard the birds cawing above me and the far-off sound of the waves crashing against the shore. I breathed in the fresh air and allowed it to fill my lungs with the crisp smell of summer. I still couldn’t believe how wonderful everything was… how wonderful everything was going to be. I had been excited about my wedding before, but after today I was ecstatic. I needed to tell Johnathan the wonderful news!

  As I made my way up the sloping path to the Escrow plantation, I still had a skip in
my step and happiness in my heart. I waved to and smiled at the plantation workers and farmers as I passed. They nodded and waved back to me, astounded that I was paying them any mind. Usually, I made my way shyly onto the plantation, noticing them but never being outgoing enough to say hello. I made my way up to the door and knocked a few times. I waited, but nobody answered. I found this odd, so I knocked a couple more times. After nobody had answered this time, I figured I would let myself in. This was my future husband's abode anyhow; I figured he wouldn’t mind. Stepping inside, I closed the door lightly behind me. Johnathan’s plantation was one of the largest in Sunhaven. His family had owned it for generations, and it was handed down to him from his parents after they were lost in a shipwreck. I hadn’t known Johnathan at this point, I was only a teenager, but word spread quickly. My father and mother attended the funeral, being close friends of the Escrows. Shortly after is when I met Johnathan. My father knew that he would grow up alone, with only servants and butlers to raise him, so he allowed him to spend as much time as he wanted around the Governor’s Mansion. Johnathan learned a lot from my father and eventually became seaworthy enough to take charge of the Sunhaven Trading Company. I didn’t like him at first. He was a snotty kid who would often pick on me. I told my mother this once, and she laughed lightly, telling me that was a younger males way of showing affection. Once I heard this, I began to look at Johnathan a little differently and knew my mother had been right. Johnathan did, in fact, fancy me. From then on, our relationship began. It was only a matter of time before he confessed his love to me and even shorter of a time before he proposed. I would never forget that moment! He had been away on a trading expedition for a little over two months, and I had missed him dearly. He was set to arrive on the Sunday before the last of the month but instead surprised me by arriving at my door in the middle of the night three days early.

  “Oh, how I’ve missed you!” He said as he embraced me.

  Soon after he dropped to one knee and spoke about how he never wanted to be apart from me again. He spoke about how he knew he would need to sail on more expeditions, but as long as our souls were tied together, he would never feel alone. My heart melted and my eyes filled with tears as I said yes! That was a few years ago. Now, the time was drawing near, and even though I was nervous, I couldn’t wait to become Mrs. Escrow.