“Yes. You left Quinn after high school because your friends and classmates were leaving and you couldn’t watch them go. You left San Antonio after Lacey was out of reach. You try to leave before people can leave you. You’ve been left a lot and you had to take control and keep your heart safe.”
Carter felt his throat squeezing. Jesus. How did Coach know all of that?
“But for the past six months, you’ve been unable to get past the hurt of Garrett’s death because it isn’t just that he’s gone…he left you too.”
Carter swallowed hard. “I left him first,” he managed.
“Yes. And you’ve been regretting it ever since. You’ve been conflicted because Garrett was the first person who left who didn’t want to and you’ve been beating yourself up for leaving him and missing out on the six months you would have had together.”
Carter nodded, unable to speak.
“So don’t do that with Lacey.”
“I can’t,” he choked out. “That’s the problem. I can’t leave her. I had to make her leave.”
“She might have been the one to leave the house, but you were the one who left the situation emotionally.”
Carter dropped his head to one of his hands, rubbing his forehead. “Because making her go when she didn’t want to was easier than watching her go because she did want to.”
“But she didn’t go.”
Coach’s words were soft and simple.
Carter looked up at him. “What?”
“She never left Quinn. She left your house, but she was here the whole time, waiting for you.”
Carter straightened. “She never left town?”
“No. And that’s something you need to start thinking about—there are a hell of a lot of people who haven’t left. Lacey. Me. Your other friends. Even if they’re not here physically all the time, they’re here for you if you need them.” Coach moved around the end of the counter and came to stand by Carter. He put his hand on Carter’s shoulder. “And Garrett didn’t want to leave you, Carter.”
“I know,” Carter said hoarsely.
“And your dad,” Coach added. “He’s never left you, son.”
“He drove them away.”
Coach shrugged. “That’s not how I see it.”
Carter frowned. “How do you see it?”
“Your dad was hurt by your mother. So with the other women, he pushed them, testing to see if they’d really stick by him. And none of them did.”
“He shouldn’t have to test them,” Carter said. “If you love someone and they love you, you just know it. It shouldn’t be a test.”
Coach’s face relaxed into a smile. “Exactly.”
Carter started to ask what he was talking about, but just then Lacey came strolling up front from the holding cell.
“I’m starving,” she announced.
And clearly she’d figured out that he hadn’t really locked her in there.
“Hope peanut butter and jelly is okay,” Coach said, handing her the sandwich and water he’d brought.
“My favorite,” she said. Her eyes locked with Carter’s. “I appreciate it, Coach. I might be here for a while.”
Coach clapped Carter on the back. “Looks like my work is done here. I’ll see you both later.”
Carter watched his coach and mentor walk away. Just as Coach reached the door, Carter called, “Hey, Coach.”
Coach Carr turned back. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for always being there.”
He grinned. “No place I’d rather be.”
The door bumped shut behind him and Carter turned to Lacey. He held up his handcuffs. “If you do what you’re told, I’ll use these on you.”
She looked from the cuffs to his face and grinned. “I don’t think that’s how it goes.”
“No?”
“I think I’m supposed to get handcuffed only if I’m bad.”
“I’ll show you bad.” He bent and scooped her up and put her on the countertop.
“Carter!” But she was laughing.
He moved in between her knees, his hands on her hips and his eyes on hers. “I was going to do candles and roses and the whole bit but I can’t wait another second. I love you, Lacey. Marry me.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes.”
He laughed. “You don’t need a bunch of promises and apologies and to know what changed my mind?”
“Sure. But not before I tell you that I love you and want to be with you forever and say yes to marrying you,” she said.
He kissed her, long and sweet.
When he pulled back, he said, “I’m not going anywhere ever again.”
She hugged him. “I know.”
“And I’m sorry it took me so long to be the man you needed. The whole man. I’m in for all of it. I’m going to screw up, I’m sure, but I’ll keep trying.”
She blinked, her eyes sparkling with tears. “And when you screw up, you’ll have your best friend there to talk you through it and help you figure out how to fix it.”
Carter felt warmth spread through his chest and contentment wrap around him. She was right. Garrett was gone, but he still had a lot of amazing people in his life who would be here for him. Jackson. And Nolan. And Oakley. He and Oakley were definitely going to hang out some more.
He leaned in and kissed her again, pouring all of his love into it. She pressed close and when he lifted his head, she put her lips to his ear.
“By the way, you knocked your best friend up after all, so you might want to get that engagement ring sooner versus later.”
He jerked back and stared at her.
“The first test was a dud I guess,” she said. “The next three all had two lines.”
That sunk in surprisingly fast. “I knew Nolan was going to take advantage of me when I was drunk.”
Lacey laughed and hugged him tight. “Oh no, you’re all mine. Only mine.”
He pulled her close, wrapping her in a huge hug, and buried his face in her hair. She was his best friend, the love of his life, and soon to be his wife and mother of his child.
Garrett was no doubt grinning like an idiot wherever he was.
About the Author
Erin Nicholas is the author of sexy contemporary romances. Her stories have been described as toe-curling, enchanting, steamy and fun. She loves to write about reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines and happily ever afters. She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).
You can find Erin at www.ErinNicholas.com,
on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ErinNicholas)
and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ErinNicholasBooks)
And don’t miss the other Boys of Fall books from
Mari Carr, Cari Quinn and Erin Nicholas!
Red Zone
October 1, 2015
by Mari Carr
Unlike so many of his teammates, Joel never left small-town Quinn after high school. Coach Carr offered him a full-time job on his ranch, and Joel was more than happy to stay near family. In his downtime, Joel good-naturedly competes with his best bud Oakley for the sexy local bartender’s attention, but Sadie repeatedly turns down their frequent requests for dates. She doesn’t want to come between the two friends…until a little too much champagne at a wedding reception leads to a sizzling encounter. In that moment, Joel and Oakley know they’ll never make Sadie choose—she can have them both.
A no-strings affair between the trio turns complicated when it becomes clear there’s nothing casual about their feelings. Add in a sensual, accidental touch between Joel and Oakley, and those feelings become intense times a thousand. It’s an emotional game of chance, one they may ultimately lose…but if they can reach the Red Zone, Joel, Oakley and Sadie have a chance at the biggest score of their lives.
Warning: This is a full-contact story with
scenes of m/m/f sex.
~ Excerpt ~
She allowed Oakley to take her hand and lead her to the taxi as Joel pressed his palm against her lower back. She caught more than a few sideways glances from people as the three of them left together. God only knew what everyone was thinking.
Actually, Sadie had a pretty good notion what they thought. As she climbed into the cab—Joel and Oakley doing exactly as she’d expected as they trapped her in the middle—she wondered if the dirty-minded people didn’t have a great idea.
Oakley kept hold of her hand, his fingers absentmindedly toying with her rings. Joel leaned closer, his arm draping around her along the backseat. Sadie gave the driver her address, though it was hard to speak with a dry mouth.
They hadn’t been in the cab more than two minutes before the darkness of the night wrapped them up in a cocoon that wasn’t lost on the guys.
Joel’s fingers began to stroke the nape of her neck—dear God, that was one of her favorite erogenous zones—as Oakley’s hand released hers in favor of her knee.
“I like your dress,” Oakley murmured.
She’d wondered when she bought it if it was too short for a fall wedding, but had decided fuck it. She’d liked it because it showed off all the assets she felt like revealing perfectly. She hadn’t cared about the old biddies giving her the hairy eyeball as much as she’d wanted to find a lover for the night.
Instead, she’d snared the wrong two guys.
Or the right two.
Oakley’s hand drifted higher and, because she didn’t have an ounce of self-restraint, she parted her legs in silent invitation.
Neither man missed the movement. Joel turned toward her, his fingers gripping her neck more firmly as he leaned closer to kiss her cheek.
Her eyes drifted closed, savoring the heat from his breath as his lips lingered there, stroking the sensitive skin of her face.
Oakley didn’t hesitate to explore deeper between her legs, his fingers lightly grazing her panties. They were wet, a dead giveaway to her desires, but it wasn’t as if she was pushing them away or protesting. Instead, she slid her hips forward a bit more, making sure Oakley had even better access.
The smart cowboy never missed a beat. Oakley dipped his finger beneath her silky panties and found her clit almost instantly.
Sadie sucked in a loud gasp, then pressed her lips closed tightly. The cab driver’s gaze found hers in the rearview mirror. There was no way she could play off the fact she was currently the cream filling in a cowboy Oreo, so she just winked at the guy.
What the hell did she care what he thought?
She didn’t give two fucks about what she thought either. The champagne had done its job well.
Oakley applied some pressure to her clit and the world shrank down to just that tiny spot. Well, that one and the one Joel was currently sucking on her neck.
Sadie was in serious danger of spontaneously combusting when the cab pulled up to the curb outside her apartment.
Oh, hell no. She was about to tell the guy to circle the block a few times, but Joel spoke before she could make the suggestion.
“Thanks.” He handed the guy a twenty, told him to keep the change and then he got out, reaching to help her. When she heard a second door close, she realized Oakley had gotten out too.
The cab drove away, leaving her on the curb, hot and bothered and still not alone.
“Did the plan change? I thought the taxi was taking you guys to the ranch.”
Oakley chuckled. “Do you want us to call him back?”
She shook her head. “Fuck no.”
More from Mari Carr! http://maricarr.com/
BUY Red Zone!
Going Deep
October 1, 2015
by Cari Quinn
Two is hot…three is explosive.
The last wedding former high school linebacker Colt Bennett attended was his own—to the woman his brother is now marrying. But tequila, romance and regrets make a bad combination, and the next thing he knows, he’s half passed out in his ex’s best friend’s truck.
That Paige Wilcox hates the sight of him is incidental, right?
At least until she calls his best friend and business partner, Drake, to give Colt a ride home, and somehow the three of them end up in her bedroom. There’s absolutely no reason why he should consider having a threesome…
Other than he’s been denying wanting both of them for months.
With Coach Carr on the mend and the rest of his high school football team back home, Colt’s starting to find his true place in his hometown. Except now he’s got even bigger problems than recriminations about the ex he’s long over. He’s falling for her best friend, and maybe even for his own…
Warning: Boys—and a girl—touch in this book. A lot.
~ Excerpt ~
“You weren’t planning on defying us and going out on a ride, were you, baby?”
“Defying you?” Paige’s voice was as shaky as her body was burning up. From desire and irritation, from chagrin and defiance. God, so many emotions were pinging around inside her right now. “What am I, a horse you need to train?”
“No, you’re a smart, sexy, funny woman who makes us crazy.” Drake’s teeth skimmed the frenetic beat under her skin and liquid pooled between her legs. “It’s not safe,” he said again, and she closed her eyes before he could see her roll them. “Not just because of coyotes, but there are snakes and other animals in the underbrush. All kinds of things to make a horse jump.”
“I wouldn’t have gone far—”
“Not at all. Do you understand me?” He turned her toward him and cupped her chin with one hand. The other palmed her breast through her nearly sheer gown. “We won’t risk you. Or allow you to risk yourself.”
“I’m not some rube. I’ve lived here for six years,” she began, finding it hard to speak while his calloused thumb tormented her tight nipple through the material.
“Six years.” He shook his head, laughing softly. But his eyes were pure heat in the wavering light from the lantern she held in a death grip. “Six years isn’t long enough to know this land. To understand what you’re dealing with. Not out there, and not with us.” He backed her up against the rough-hewn wood of the stall and hiked up her leg, wrapping it around his waist. His rigid cock nestled into the triangle of her legs, pressing insistently. “You really want to argue with two cowboys who could put you over our laps and spank your ass raw?”
Distantly, she was aware of Cupcake rustling behind her, but all she could think about was getting more. More of him rocking into her, more of that fierce, focused need centered on her face. Both of them utterly consumed by ordinary, ungainly Paige Wilcox.
“You think you scare me?” She lifted her chin. “Hell no. You can only spank me if I want it. If I let you.”
Even as she said it, the fingers of her free hand curled around his wrist. She hoped like hell he got the message that she was setting up a dangerous game, because if he pulled the gentleman card and backed away now, she was going to lose her mind.
“You think so, sweetheart?” He tipped his forehead against hers, his breathing choppy. He was every bit as affected by their foreplay as she was. “Test us and find out.”
“What us? I only see you right now.”
“Go ahead and run,” he murmured into her mouth. “See if we catch you.”
She didn’t think. Didn’t question herself if she was creating an unhealthy precedent. There were games, and there was sex, and she really wasn’t sure how far she could push them.
That was a huge part of the thrill.
She shoved the lantern in his chest and used his moment’s surprise to take off running. She scrambled a bit on the hay, losing her footing, but quickly regained it and sprinted out of the stable and down the path to the house.
His loud footsteps pounded behind her. He was close, too close.
As she neared the house, coat flapping in the breeze, she debated running around the side or heading back i
n and sprinting out the front. He’d expect her to disappear outside. So many more places to hide.
What he didn’t get was that she really wanted to be caught.
At the last second, she veered back to the house. She charged up the steps to the back porch, her heartbeat stampeding in her ears. Perspiration slicked between her shoulder blades and her lungs were screaming. But she couldn’t stop now. Not yet.
She opened the screen door, prepared to dart inside, and slammed into a rock hard chest.
Panting, she glanced up at Colt’s narrowed eyes. “Oh fuck.”
He tipped up her chin with a single fingertip as the clomp of boots behind her on the porch told her she was well and truly surrounded. An equally hard chest pressed into her backside and she moaned, so turned on she couldn’t even think to be nervous about what they might do.
“Going somewhere, darlin’?” Colt asked softly.
More from Cari Quinn! http://cariquinn.com/
BUY Going Deep!
And there’s more from the Boys of Fall!
Released January 2015
Out of Bound
Erin Nicholas
As star running back for his high school team, Jackson Brady led a charmed life—until the wild child pushed a little too far. And thanks to snitching goody two-shoes Annabelle Hartington, Jackson endured scandal, shame, and suspension from the team before the championship game. His ensuing downward spiral would have been far worse if not for Nicholas Carr, his high school coach and mentor.
Illegal Motion: Boys of Fall Page 19
