Protecting Emma

by ML Michaels

  “Well I’ll be glad to have her,” he said. “If you’ll let me.” He smiled. “Half of her, at least. Or whatever portion I can have.”

  “When she’s being contrary, you can have all of her,” Valerie joked.

  They laughed, and suddenly it was like old times. In less than three hours, she’d gone from a bubbling pot of insecurity to feeling warm and calm, like she was floating on a high that could only come from being around Justin.

  “I have my own confession,” Justin said. He picked up the glass of wine and took a hearty swig. Valerie smiled. She might have taken it for a gesture of nervousness if he hadn’t always drunk everything with such gusto. She was sure that Julia would be like that in another twenty years.

  “What’s that?”

  Justin put the wine glass back down on the table and moved closer to Valerie. Her breath caught in her throat.

  “I was pretty upset that you stopped calling,” he said. “I was too busy to do anything about it, and I figured you’d found someone else. But I never stopped thinking about you.”

  Valerie laughed, more out of nervousness than anything else. “It was a good summer.”

  Justin shook his head, looking very serious. “It was more than a good summer, Val.” His voice was deep and husky. “You know that.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Valerie, come on,” he said. “I’ve always cared for you. And you’ve always cared for me.”

  “I’m still not picking up what you’re laying down.”

  Justin rolled his eyes, let out a sigh of frustration, and then grabbed Valerie’s shoulders and pressed his mouth against hers. She was alarmed and stiff at first, not quite believing what her senses were telling her was happening. She couldn’t be kissing Justin Brown. She hadn’t kissed him in four years—unless her dreams counted. And she was certain they didn’t. And he had no business kissing her. He was a famous hockey player. She was a small town journalist who could barely make pasta.

  But he was. And as soon as she accepted that fact, Valerie practically melted against him. His mouth was tart from the wine but warm and welcoming. When she began to respond, his lips plied hers open so that his tongue could enter. She moaned into his mouth.

  He moved his hands from her shoulders to her back, pulling her up against him. She reached her arms out and tangled them around his neck, pressing her chest into his and drinking in his kiss like it gave her life.

  He became voracious; they both did. Soon just kissing him wasn’t enough. She needed to feel him, to ease their wounds with the tender passion they had moved past but never forgotten. The relief she felt at him saying that he’d thought about her too was only slightly more powerful than her incredible disbelief. She was fiercely happy.

  “Why don’t I give you the tour,” Valerie said breathily, sliding her lips down Justin’s neck.

  “Only if we start with your bedroom,” he purred in response.

  She chuckled and stood from the couch, offering him her hand. He tagged along behind her as she walked down the hall, both of them careful not to wake Julia with their steps. When they were in her room, Valerie closed the door and practically leapt back into Justin’s arms.

  His kiss was insistent and passionate, and he circled his arms around her and squeezed until there was no room between them. There was nothing but the promise of the fulfillment of their lust.

  Valerie began to fumble with the buttons of Justin’s shirt, eager to feel his skin against hers. She could only imagine what kind of amazing things were going on under his shirt these days.

  She was not disappointed.

  He was muscled and lean, with a light sprinkling of chest hair across the upper half of his chest. His body was tight and firm beneath her touch, and she left goose bumps in her wake as she dragged her nails across it.

  Justin was just as eager to undress her. He practically ripped her shirt off, releasing her of her bra in two seconds flat. Valerie laughed.

  “What?” Justin asked, nibbling her ear.

  “I just remember how long it took you to do that the first time we had sex,” she said, sighing.

  Justin chuckled darkly, the vibration of it sending shivers straight to Valerie’s core. Heat pooled between her thighs at his touch. Nobody else had ever made her feel that way. Every one of her nerve endings was tingling with pleasure.

  Justin lowered his mouth to her breasts and began to kiss and suck along her nipples, causing Valerie to sigh blissfully. His mouth was hot, but the trail he left was cool against the air. The contrast caused the throbbing in her core to grow ever more insistent.

  Justin brought his mouth back over hers and slid a hand between her legs to rub her jeans, causing another soft moan to escape Valerie’s mouth.

  “We have to be quiet,” she murmured.

  Justin smirked down at her. “That’s on you, Val.”

  His gaze was so dark and full of lust that it caused heat to rise further in Valerie’s cheeks. Nobody had looked at her like that in a long time. Even if they had, it would have never had the same effect that Justin’s look did. She felt so sexy and powerful. So alive.

  Justin stripped her of her pants and panties, kissing along her legs as she trembled, trying to stay standing. He rose slowly to her neck. “Get on the bed,” he whispered.

  She didn’t need to be told twice.

  From the bed, Valerie watched him slide out of his jeans, and release his impressive erection from his boxers. She was glad that part of him hadn’t changed either.

  She backed up on the bed as he crawled toward her, eyes trained on his. He rose above her, sliding his chest along hers, grinding his heavy length between them. She bit back a moan and arched up, anxious to feel him inside of her.

  When he began to press inside, Valerie nearly lost her mind. All she could think of was how good it felt, how each inch of him stretching her and filling her scratched an itch deep inside that only Justin could scratch. She felt relief in the purest sense.

  When their hips were pressed together, Justin looked down at her with half-lidded eyes, his delicious lips part in an expression of bliss. And then he pulled back out and thrust back in again with enough force to knock the air from her lungs.

  Valerie had to suppress a scream of delight by latching her mouth onto Justin’s neck as he thrust, wrapping her legs around his hips. He buried himself inside of her over and over again, ramping up the intensity of his strokes to a degree that she knew would bring her to her climax way faster than she could have ever thought.

  There was no mistaking the way their bodies ached for each other, the passion that burned in the sheets.

  Justin couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this peaceful. It was a strange thing to think when he was madly thrusting in pursuit of life’s purest pleasure, but damn if it wasn’t true. He was at peace with her. Her body was his solace. Sliding into her had felt like coming home.

  He could feel his climax beginning to rise. He could feel the sweet tendrils of pleasure that rose out from inside of him, causing his scalp to crackle with electricity and his balls to tense.

  When Valerie’s eyes filled with pleasure, her body clenching around him as she floated off on the tide of her orgasm, he couldn't hold it back anymore. He muffled his cry in the pillow as he came, his whole body shuddering with delight as the sensation of release and satisfaction buffeted him. He was panting, sweating, and everything felt hot. Valerie sighed into his neck and traced a pattern on his back, her fingertips like butterflies dancing on his skin.

  He kissed her neck, her jaw, her cheek, her eyelids. Everywhere he could reach he kissed, his lips hungry for her skin. Even after he collapsed beside her and pulled her into his arms, he still felt like he couldn’t get enough.

  He’d hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her. That something that he’d felt had always been missing despite the money and fame had been her. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get enough of
her.

  Justin woke quite early. The early morning sun caused the curtains on the window to glow a buttery yellow color, bathing the room in a soft hue. He turned his head on the pillow to gaze at the woman beside him.

  Valerie was still sleeping, her eyelashes brushing her cheeks, her face serene. She looked beautiful even when she slept. He doubted there would come a time when he didn’t find her beautiful.

  He leaned over a brushed a kiss on her temple, rising out of bed. She sighed and turned over, her eyes fluttering open just as he pulled on his boxers.

  “Are you leaving?” she asked. It was hard to miss the sound of fear in her voice.

  Justin crawled back onto the bed and pulled her into his arms, cradling her head on his chest. “Of course not,” he said. “I just don’t want Julia to come in and see a naked man in her mom’s bed.”

  Valerie laughed, relieved. “Not just any naked man,” she said. “Her dad.”

  Justin smiled. “Even worse. Do you want us to scar her for life?”

  Valerie sighed and sleepily pulled away from him, grabbing a t-shirt and pajama shorts from her closet. He watched her dress, admiring the curve of her ass and the way her nipples caught the light.

  “You’re beautiful,” he said.

  Valerie turned and gave him a grin, crawling back onto the bed once fully clothed. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  He grabbed her hips and pulled her back to him, planting a chaste kiss on her lips.

  “Uh, Justin?” she asked, her voice soft.

  “Mmm?” He closed his eyes and rested back on the pillow, one arm around Valerie’s shoulders.

  “What happens now?” She sighed. “I know we said a lot of stuff last night...but I don’t want you thinking that you have to...you know…”

  “Stay?”

  “Yeah. Or whatever.”

  Justin laughed. “Or whatever,” he repeated. “I have a couple of weeks off still, before I have to go back to Boston.” He pulled her tighter. “But I do have to go back.”

  Valerie nodded against his chest. “I figured.” Her heart hurt imaging life without him again. Imaging what the three of them would miss. She’d been so silly to hope…”

  “But there are great writing jobs there,” he said. “If you even really want to work. It’s up to you.” He peeked open an eye to look down at her. She was looking up at him with wide eyes. He saw the tears glistening there.

  “You don’t have to…”

  “No,” he said. “But you do.”

  “Do what?”

  “Have to.”

  “Have to what?”

  Justin slid her up his chest to his face, kissing her again. “Have to start putting up with me,” he said.

  “And what does that entail?” she asked, giggling.

  “Hopefully getting you to come to Boston with me.” He slid his hand along her back. “Getting both of you to Boston.”

  “You really mean that?” she asked, a slight tremble in her voice.

  “Of course I do,” he said. “Somebody’s got to chase the puck bunnies away.”

  Valerie snorted, smacking him on the chest. “And what makes you think I’m right for the job?”

  Justin smirked. “I wasn’t talking about you,” he said. “But if our daughter is anything like her mom, she’ll be fierce enough that even the Canucks fans wouldn’t mess with her.”

  The End

  *****

  The Best Revenge: A Bad Boy College Athlete First Time Romance

  By Bess Hart

  It was the first week of school, and Paula already hated her roommate. Was she going to have to move back home? Three nights in a row, now, Steph had woken Paula up with her raucous partying. Three. Nights. Last night she probably didn't get in until around four in the morning.

  Now, as Paula gazed across the room at her, Steph seemed to be sleeping like a freaking angel. She was perfection, even while dozing. She was noticeably alone though, which was strange because Paula could have sworn that she heard Steph bring home some guy last night. If she had been making those noises by herself, then Paula was both impressed and alarmed.

  Paula cautiously tiptoed out of bed, grabbing her shower caddy from the drawer underneath it. She wasn't sure why she was being cautious—it wasn't like Steph afforded her the same kind of respect. Paula decided not to dwell on that, though. Treat others the way you want to be treated, right?

  Steph's friends were hanging around in the hallway outside. They'd all managed to room on the same floor, but Steph, as she complained at length about, was the only one who'd been paired with a stranger. She sure knew how to make a girl feel welcome. She also liked to complain that not only had she been paired with a stranger, but she'd also been paired with a loser. That hurt slightly.

  Paula tried not to let it get to her, though. She wasn't there to make friends—she was only at school to get good grades and focus on science. The roommate experiment it seemed, however, was not one that was working out for her. Paula contemplated, as she stepped into the co-ed shower room, that maybe she was destined to live at home for the rest of her life.

  But she didn't want to live at home.

  Her parents were great and everything, but Paula felt so juvenile when she had them hovering around her like helicopters. She needed her freedom. Even if the things she was free to do now involved showering in a room with smelly guys and spending long nights studying in the library.

  Speaking of smelly guys. Holy shit.

  In front of her, soaking wet, was the most naked and most beautiful guy she’d ever seen. He was tanned and ripped, with the tiniest sprinkling of chest hair on his chest. He was like a fantasy come to life.

  And he was looking straight at her.

  "Oh god," Paula said, looking off to her right to avoid staring directly at his package. That didn't help, because there was a mirror to her right. She turned to her left instead, her face hot.

  "I'm sorry," Paula said. " I didn't know anybody was in here."

  She wasn't sure why she was apologizing for walking into the communal shower room. He shouldn't have just been naked in there, letting it all hang out.

  The guy, who was toweling his hair, shrugged. "No worries, Meg."

  Paula turned back and looked him in the eyes. They were a warm chocolate brown, just like his hair.

  "You look like Meg Ryan."

  She self-consciously patted her blonde curls, turning even more red. She hoped he meant Meg Ryan when she was a young hot movie star, not what she looked like presently. Paula was only nineteen. Definitely too young to be looking like a fifty-year-old. Was Meg Ryan fifty?

  Then Paula realized that he was still standing in front of her, naked as the day is long.

  "Uh," she stammered. "Am I in your way?"

  He shook his head, grinning. "No."

  Paula decided that she would shower later. She made a hasty retreat to her room but her progress was significantly slowed by the the little cluster of girls in the hallway. Steph, apparently, was awake now, as she was standing out with her friends.

  "Why do you look so red, Paula?" she taunted. "See something in the shower?"

  Paula charged past her, her face down. The girls continued talking as they had before.

  "God Kris is so hot," one of them crooned. "You are so lucky! Get me one."

  Paula heard Steph chuckling even as she closed the door to her room. “Well, there’s the rest of the hockey team to pick from,” she said.

  It seemed that solved the mystery of who Steph had brought home last night.

  Paula’s first lab was bound to be a success. She’d been doing bits of studying all summer, not wanting to lose any mental acuity over the long break. Paula got there early and snagged one of the lab tables in the back. Most of the smarter kids, she found, liked to sit at the front. Not her. Paula liked to be as far away from the professor as humanly possible.

  There probably wasn't anybody who didn't make her at least a lit
tle nervous. It was a real problem.

  Just after professor began talking, the guy from the bathroom walked into class. Kris. His name was Kris. He must have just switched in, because he hadn't been there for the last few days.

  Paula gulped. She had skirted through the first few days without a lab partner, and the professor had been fine with that given her advanced test scores. Now Paula was very conscious of how the number of students in the room had suddenly evened out. And she was the only one still sitting by herself.

  Kris saw that too, and his face lit up as he came over and plopped onto the seat next to her.

  "Alright, it's You’ve Got Mail," he said, giving her a little nudge on the shoulder. Paula blushed again, and she had a feeling that was the desired effect.

  She couldn't believe that she had seen him naked. And now he was sitting next to her. Paula was acutely aware of just how perfect his body had been, and now how close that perfect body was to her. It was everything she could do to stay on her stool.

  The professor started by reviewing his notes from the previous class. Most of that had been review from high school bio, which everyone in that class had obviously taken. Kris, apparently, must have excelled in it, because he wasn't taking notes.

  The professor noticed. "Absorbing this directly into your cranium are you?" he asked.

  Kris shrugged. "Osmosis and all that."

  The professor sneered and continued with his lecture, clearly looking forward to failing Kris at the first available opportunity. Paula wondered if Kris knew that. She glanced over at him, and from the expression on his face, she gathered he didn't seem to care all that much.

  She was furious.