Billionaire Romance: Strike to the Heart (New Adult College Second Chance Age Play Older Man Younger Woman Romance) (Contemporary BBW BDSM Wealthy Rich Alpha Male Hero Short Stories)

by Grace Rawson

  Sydney gave him a heavy pat. No matter what the path threw at them, she could trust her horse to carry her through it. She laughed a little. It was practically a metaphor for her life. Through all the twists and turns, only one thing had ever been certain – Concerto was the only steady thing in her life. She didn’t mind that one bit.

  Sydney brushed Concerto as he munched on his grain. His freshly washed coat was damp and smelled vaguely of sweet apples. He was in heaven, his legs stretched, the sweat rinsed away, his belly being filled. She put some oil on his hooves and let herself out of his corral. She packed her things away and headed for home. She only had 24 more hours of down-time this time around before she had to report for duty again at 5 pm tomorrow. Flight nurses were in short supply, and the surrounding wilderness attracted all level of daredevils during tourist season. Most were not as adept at their hobby as they imagined themselves to be. For many people each year, their daring landed them in the hospital after a ride in the Care Flight chopper.

  Sydney returned home to a flashing answering machine. No one had ever called her before so it was probably a wrong number. She hopped into the shower and washed the stench of horse sweat, trail dust, and wet animal from herself. Her grandpa always said, if you want a clean horse, prepare to get dirty. Judging by the color of the water rushing down the drain, she imagined Papa was quite right about that.

  After her shower, she padded barefoot into the living room, her towel wrapped around her while her wet hair hung loose around her shoulders. She pressed the button on the machine, unprepared for the voice on the recording.

  “Hi Sydney, it’s Max. I was wondering if you were free for dinner this weekend. I know a nice little place just outside of town I thought you’d enjoy. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

  Sydney was surprised. Max was calling her? And if that wasn’t odd enough, he sounded almost nervous. Max, with the steady hand and the ability to fly choppers in the most treacherous situations, sounded nervous. Sydney couldn’t imagine why, but she was a little giddy. Lunch with Max had been fun and relaxing. She’d enjoyed his company more than she had enjoyed eating alone, and that was saying a lot. He left his number, but Sydney would see him tomorrow and let him know that dinner sounded good. There were times a girl just didn’t need to be alone, and this week, apparently, Sydney was feeling quite social.

  Chapter 4

  At 4:15, Sydney rushed into the common room on her way to the lockers. She was driving to work when another call came over the radio. This time, it was a missing child, a call they all dreaded. The little girl was lost in the woods and they were calling in all resources to find her before the sun set. They had four hours, which was a drop in the bucket when searching hundreds of square miles of rough mountain terrain. The temperature dipped once the sun went down, and at just eight years old, it was very unlikely that she would know what to do to save her own life while she waited to be rescued.

  Sydney grabbed her gear bag and headed for the chopper. She’d change on the way. Time was slipping away and every moment they wasted could mean be life or death for this little girl.

  Max already had the chopper warmed up and ready to go. Trey hurried through a side door, already dressed in his gear. By 4:22 they were secure in the chopper and Max was guiding the bird into the air. Trey sat in the jump seat until they got closer to the last place the young girl had been seen by her family about an hour before. Once they were near the search area, Trey would hook himself so that he could search out the open door with binoculars. While he messed with the onboard screen that displayed the girl’s picture and a description of what she was wearing, Sydney began changing into her flight scrubs.

  A large peak rose above the trees and Max lowered the chopper. They were at the boundary of the search area. He slowed and started methodically flying a search grid. Trey clipped himself onto a safety ring and hung out of the door, scanning the ground with his binoculars. Sydney pulled a back-up harness on and took a spot on the opposite side of the door, scanning the area behind Trey and the chopper. A grid search was tedious and frustrating, and Max made several passes over each small section before moving onto the next. They continued like that as rescuers on horseback and on foot searched from the ground.

  Hikers went missing often and the local rescue personnel and volunteers were very skilled at this type of search. If the little girl was within the search area, they’d find her. As long as they found her before sunset, her chances were excellent, even if she was injured. Once the sun set, the temperature drop turned a routine lost child search into a race against time. Sydney scanned between the trees, outwardly calm, but inside she was a bundle of nerves. They had to find this little girl.

  Trey was making a second pass over a stand of trees when Max’s voice came in over the headsets, “I’ve got her.” He turned the chopper north and both Sydney and Trey caught sight of her at the same moment. She was lying on her side on a large rock in a tiny clearing in the middle of dense brush and trees. She was huddled in a ball, and though they couldn’t see enough to determine if she had injuries from here, she looked ok. And alive.

  Max set the chopper to hover over the rock. The little girl didn’t move, just held her knees to her chest and stayed in a ball. Sydney was lowered slowly toward the rocks, trying to keep her mind off the vast open space surrounding her. She landed softly beside the girl. The tiny child gripped herself more tightly, as if she could escape her terror by disappearing into her own body. She appeared uninjured. Sydney unhooked her harness and waved the chopper off. They were only a mile and a half from the campsite and already, Sydney could hear the volunteers calling for the girl in the distance.

  Back at the station, Sydney and Max sat in the common area, watching television in comfortable silence. Today had been one heck of a rescue, and the ambulance crew had been equally busy. Trey had gone on a run in the back up ambulance with a paramedic named Steve. His regular partner was sick that night, and Trey was only too happy to get out of the station and do something. He wasn’t much of a homebody and the 36 on shifts killed him when it was slow. Sydney had hiked nearly two miles down rugged terrain with a small child on her back. She’d tried to convince the girl to ride behind one of the rescuers on horseback, but the girl refused. After trying several different options to convince the child to come down from the large rock and make the short trek to where her parents waiting, Sydney finally offered a piggy-back ride and the girl jumped on the chance; literally. Sydney’s back was killing her and her legs felt like lead. She was content to spend the rest of the night stretched out in one of the recliners, and Trey could work himself silly if he wanted to.

  Chapter 5

  Max watched Sydney shift and twist uncomfortably in the chair, her muscles obviously quite sore. She was strong for her size, but at 5’2”, she wasn’t much bigger than the child she’d lugged on her back over some pretty rough terrain. He could tell she needed a good back rub, and he was just the man to do it. He sat up in his chair and set his feet on the floor. He motioned to Sydney to come over. She looked confused and then realized what he was offering. She hesitated, but only for a moment. Her shoulders and back were killing her, and a good rub-down was just the therapy she needed to work the kinks out.

  She sat between his feet and he began to rub his hands on her neck, gently kneading the tightness out of her neck with his fingers. Sydney moaned softly as the pain gave way to pleasure and each tiny section of her neck released the tension she’d been holding all afternoon. He pressed his fingertips to her neck as he used his thumbs to guide her head from side to side and back and forth, expertly working out each tiny knot as he leisurely made his way across her skin. Sydney’s skin tingled as the blood was brought to the surface and her body started to melt.

  Max moved down to her shoulders, his hands sure and steady as he continued his work. He smiled to himself as he stroked her through her thin shirt. She was so trusting and naive. He could do this all night, and he certainly intended to draw it
out as long as possible. Patiently, he worked section by section to release the stiffness from her overworked muscles. Her shoulders and back were so tight he had to really dig to get the muscles to relax. Sydney tensed and then groaned, his big hands strong and unrelenting on her body as he drew every last ounce of tension out of her.

  He stopped short of her lower back. With her seated on the floor there was no way he could reach it. Sydney was nearly asleep when she noticed that he’d stopped. She felt the absence of touch and was disappointed that he was already done. She turned to him, her pretty face soft and heavy with exhaustion.

  “Thank you, Max. That’s so much better.” She looked in his eyes and saw something she’d never seen in his eyes before; heat. As clueless as she was, she could see it smoldering in their depths. She searched his gaze, wondering if she was reading into something that wasn’t there. Suddenly, his fingers were in her hair, pulling her to him for a deep kiss. He was still sitting in the recliner, and the angle forced her to lean into him to keep her balance. He kissed her passionately, his breath catching as he tasted her sweetness. Sydney closed her eyes, and every look, every innocent touch, every moment where it had been clear that he was interested flashed before her eyes. How could I have missed that? she wondered. Max wrapped his strong arms around her and brought her even closer, pulling her off her feet and on top of him.

  Sydney sucked in a deep breath, surprised by his behavior. Mere moments ago, she was sitting around, minding her own business, just trying to recover from the day. Just like that, her entire world was turned upside down, and she was swept off her feet – literally. Max pulled her even closer, devouring her in a way Sydney had never encountered before. He had decades more experience than she did, and it showed.

  His hand slid under her shirt, resting on her bare skin. His kisses deepened and she found herself gasping for breath. She pulled away and sat up on his lap, gulping for air. Her heart was racing and her chest heaved under her shirt. Her lips were swollen and red, her eyes filled with longing. Max placed his strong hands on her hips, rubbing his thumbs over her flat stomach, his hand resting just above her waistband. He inched upward, watching her face as he explored her smooth, tight skin. She leaned down and captured his mouth in a shy kiss as his hands slid further up and cupped her full breasts through her silky bra. Her taut nipples pushed at the fabric, begging to be released.

  Sydney didn’t know what had come over her. The heat within her body was growing, her soul aching with the sudden, urgent need to have him. To be had by him. She wanted to lie next to him right there in the recliner, like a couple of aroused teens at a drive-in movie. She was starting to lose herself to the moment, when the door opened and a shocked Trey stopped short in the dimly lit room.

  “What the hell?” He spun on his heel and slammed the door behind him without another word.

  Sydney sat up and looked around the room, completely disoriented. The door had opened again, and in the doorway stood Steve, with a shocked expression etched into his face, his feet rooted to the floor in surprise. She looked down at Max and her rumpled clothes, then back up to Steve. Heat rushed up her body and her face turned bright red. She jumped up quickly, running through the halls and out the back door to the parking lot. It didn’t really matter what happened the rest of the night, there were plenty of people there to cover her spot. For now, she just had to put as much distance between herself and Max as possible.

  Chapter 6

  Sydney slunk back into the building quietly at 6am the next morning. The night had been rough, not even considering the awkward encounter with Steve and Trey, and the rest of the medics were asleep in their bunks. She sat at the table, sipping her morning cup of coffee. What a mess I’ve made of things. She was sure she’d ruined everything; not just with Max, but it was obvious that Trey had been hiding some feelings for her. Looking back, she could see it. The way he teased her, how he made a big show of double-checking her equipment. He’d been showing interest for awhile, but oblivious Sydney hadn’t noticed. She wasn’t interested in him in the least, but had she known, she might have done something.

  Might have done what, she thought angrily, let him down easily? Avoided him? Sydney didn’t know what she would have done differently. Considering she hadn’t even seen what was right before her eyes, it was doubtful she would have known what to do anyway. When it came to men, she was as dense as they came.

  Sydney stared angrily into the black liquid in her cup. Stupid, stupid, stupid. How did I let myself get carried away like that with Max? She continued to berate herself silently for being such a fool and ruining a good friendship. Hell, she probably ruined three friendships in one moment of weakness.

  “Good morning,” Sydney nearly jumped out her seat. Max’s smooth, deep voice caressed her like his hands had the night before. He was looking at her, waiting for her to respond. She met his gaze, expecting to see embarrassment, a little shame, something to show that he felt the same amount of regret that she did for everything they’d destroyed last night. Instead, she saw happiness. He winked at her and poured himself a coffee.

  “Did you sleep well,” he said, pausing, then adding, “Sydney.” Her name slid off his tongue like fine silk. Whatever misgivings she had about their encounter he didn’t share. In fact, Sydney was certain that he was proud of himself.

  The heat creeped up her throat once again, tightening it and flooding her face with redness as she relived that beautiful kiss from the night before. What a ridiculously wonderful mistake that they couldn’t ever let happen again. The two of them together had “bad idea” written all over it.

  She was about to tell him what a mistake last night had been when he captured her mouth with his, the heat from the coffee like lava on her tongue. Her brain turned to mush and she forgot what she was trying to tell him. It was important, that much she knew. But she couldn’t seem to conjure up the words.

  Max broke from the kiss first, “We’re up in five. Some overnight campers didn’t show up to work this morning, their boss is sure that they’re lost in the wilderness somewhere.”

  “Could be a false alarm.”

  “Could be the real thing,” he held her gaze, his confidence evident.

  “Might be a waste of time.”

  “Sometimes you have to take a chance.” Max walked away, leaving her to wonder if they were even talking about the missing campers anymore.

  She hurried to catch up with him and climbed into the chopper. Trey was already buckled into his seat and ready to go. He acknowledged her with a curt nod and nothing more. His usual friendly demeanor was gone and Sydney felt awful. She’d never meant to hurt him. Until he’d caught her kissing Max, she hadn’t even noticed his interest in her. It’s not like he told me, how in the world was I supposed to know?

  They flew in silence, Max unusually quiet as he piloted the chopper towards the general area of the missing campers. Trey wouldn’t even look at her.

  They were five minutes out from the search zone when a call came across the radio. “All clear, subjects recovered.”

  Sydney let out a sigh of relief. Not just for the campers, who had either been found unharmed or had shown up to work finally, but for the reprieve from Trey’s cold shoulder. His refusal to speak up had gotten them to this awkward place, and his continued silence wasn’t the way Sydney normally dealt with her problems.

  The chopper landed and Trey hit the ground practically running, without even glancing behind him to see if anything needed to be done before he left. He bypassed the employee entrance and headed straight for his car. Without a word, he left for the day, with no indication of when, or if, he was coming back. Sydney walked slowly towards the employee entrance, knowing full well that the guys were going to tease her about what had happened last night. By now, the entire station knew. They blew off the stress of their jobs by heckling each other like rowdy school boys. Sydney expected a bit of ribbing about Max and Trey.

  Max caught up with Sydney. Oh boy, what do I say t
o him now? She was so torn. He was the perfect man; strong and kind, selfless. He gave a so much of his free time volunteering for Care Flight Rescue. There was a rumor that he actually owned the chopper, but Sydney never put much stock in office gossip. Before she could muster up the courage to say something to him, anything, he grabbed her hand and fell in step with her.

  He leaned down and spoke gently in her ear, his warm breath exciting her as if he’d planted a kiss on her slender neck, “Leave the guys to me, keep your head high and follow my lead.” She caught his eye and saw that ever-present twinkle. He was so sure of himself and his place in this world. Sydney would give anything to walk through life with half the confidence that Max had. He opened the door and let her pass through, his strong hand engulfing hers as they walked side by side into the fire.

  Chapter 7

  Trey sat alone in the back of the diner, still wearing his flight suit. He was angry, so angry. He’d let Sydney slip right through his hands without even giving them a shot. To add insult to injury, she’d passed him up for a man twice her age. The blow to his ego was substantial, as the memory of them together on the recliner made his stomach turn. That should have been him kissing her sweet lips. Instead he was sitting here, alone while they were at the station together, doing who knows what. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got at her. How could she not have known?

  A stranger sat down across from him without a word.

  “Seat’s taken friend, find another table.”

  “Oh no, Son, I’m right where I need to be.” He thrust his hand out, his smile revealing jagged, yellowed teeth that showed years of neglect, “I was hoping to ask you a few questions.”