Not Before Game Night (Bad Boy Bachelors of Orange County Book 4)

by Khardine Gray

  “I totally give you my word.” That was a surety I could bank my word on. I would make her feel better than amazing.

  I gripped her hips and lined my cock up with her entrance, then thrust into her virgin opening, gentle but forceful enough to get in. She gasped, sucking in a deep breath, and moaned.

  She’d been tight around my fingers, but that was nothing to how she felt just on the tip of my cock. She was so tight it was almost painful to be inside her.

  I knew my next move would be it. She did too. I could see it in her eyes, and that she trusted me. Holding her hips a little stronger, I pulled out a little then pushed right inside her, slamming past her maidenhead, piercing right through it. I felt it give, and her walls opened up for me.

  That time, she cried out in pain and reached for me.

  “Cole…” she gasped.

  I stopped, wanting to check if she was okay.

  “Goddess, you okay? I can stop if you want me to.”

  “No, please don’t stop. Please don’t.” She moaned.

  I didn’t need to be told twice. I started moving inside her, and it was me who felt amazing.

  Chapter 13

  Vanessa

  The pain that had lanced through me was unlike anything I’d ever felt.

  It shot right through my body and severed me from reality, then it was replaced with a wave of luxuriating pleasure moments later.

  The pleasure and the pain took me by complete surprise because I never knew what either would feel like.

  Once I’d gotten past the initial shock of both, I allowed myself to enjoy the slow pumps he gave me.

  He took my hand, lifted it up and over my head while he lowered and laced his fingers through mine. All the while he continued to pump, giving me time to adjust further to his invading thickness.

  He smiled and kissed me.

  “Feel good yet, baby?”

  “I feel amazing,” I told him.

  I did.

  As he stroked in and out, I stretched and relished in the fact that I was no longer a girl but a woman. He’d taken my innocence and given me this blast of pleasure in return. This was what it felt like to be a woman.

  Our faces close, fingers entwined, eyes locked, we moved together, and my whole body came alive with the fire of pleasure. It vibrated through me, sizzling through my soul. I would have loved to stay just like this forever, but the buildup of pleasure was too much. It crested like a wave and rocketed through me, making me scream again.

  The clench of my walls around his cock made him groan, and he released my hand so he could straighten up. The cool demeanor he’d previously exhibited was no longer there. It was replaced by what I’d call carnal need. Pure unadulterated carnal desire that was so scandalous it made my soul shiver.

  I stilled when he began moving faster, then pumping harder and faster, stronger and with more power with a driving need. His cock seared into me hard and rough with blunt promise, making my passage quake.

  Soon, he was pounding, riding me with the passion of a beast, fierce and animalistic as he rutted into me like an animal.

  My inner walls rippled as my body demanded more and he gave it to me.

  Then we were both moaning and groaning as the sounds of our bodies slapping together filled the room.

  Then the moment happened when the buildup seemed to take us out of existence. My cheeks burned, I closed my eyes trying to blink past the flash of white-hot light that speckled behind my closed lids, and another greedy orgasm crippled me.

  It took me and reached for him too. Nothing was better than when he called out my name. My name falling from his lips like that was something I would remember forever.

  As the call of passion came to claim us, we both answered, giving in with mutual surrender. Falling and falling, until we stopped and the pleasure tore us in two. I felt it for both of us.

  His pumps slowed to a stop, and he looked down at me, breathing hard. I reached up to him, and he took my hand as he pulled me into his arms.

  Cole pressed his head to mine and just held me the way I’d always imagined it would feel if we did this.

  We did. He’d had me. He took that part of me that only I could give him, and it would always be his.

  “Vanessa.” He breathed my name.

  I looked up at him, and he lowered his lips to mine to kiss me. It was a kiss to seal the memory of the night.

  Round two happened, and so did round three and four.

  By then I stopped counting. We were in the jacuzzi, and I had so much fun playing with him while I straddled him that I just stopped thinking of numbers and time.

  Everything was frozen, and it was like we existed outside time and space.

  It didn’t even matter where we were or when we were. Just the part about us being together and that I never wanted him to stop touching me.

  By the time we circled back to the bed, I was convinced we were the only two people on earth. We indulged in each other again.

  Then he held me, and we fell asleep.

  Sleep… then awake. I wished I’d just stayed awake the whole time. I wished someone could have told me not to sleep, or that sleep would crack the bubble we’d been in and bring tomorrow with it. A new day.

  A big day for him as it was the first game of the season and the first for him as a Centaur.

  All his adoring fans would be there. All those women who loved the infamous bad boy bachelor Cole Buchanan.

  Awake, he was the rebel who claimed me. Asleep, there was an angelic presence about him that almost made me believe last night was more than just fun.

  It would be wrong of me to believe that and foolish for me to believe that I could even begin to compete with the hoard of women who were already after him.

  Gage’s words floated into my mind again. Guys like Cole just wanted fun.

  I knew what I was getting myself into, and now I had to get myself out. I had to be the woman he’d made me and take charge before I fell.

  After all, it wasn’t that hard to fall. I was already inches from the ground. This was the guy I first gave my heart to.

  I stayed in his arms for five more minutes, then I slipped out of his arms and left.

  It felt strange walking back to my room. I felt different, older although I hadn’t aged.

  I got inside, showered and changed to get ready for the day.

  When a knock sounded on the door, my heart leapt thinking it was him. Him coming to find me and take me back to his room.

  But it wasn’t Cole. It was Gage.

  “Morning.” He smiled coming in.

  “Hey.”

  “I missed you last night. They had pecan pie, and I grabbed a slice for you but ate it when I couldn’t find you.” He chuckled.

  I laughed at that. We loved pecan pie. The two of us could have a full-sized pie that could serve about twelve people between us.

  “It was fine. We should meet up for pie later.” I nodded.

  “I just came to see if you’re okay. Are yo—” His voice cut as he looked at me. He narrowed his eyes, and I stilled wondering if he could tell I’d had sex.

  When something cautious and tentative flickered in his eyes, I knew he could. He was close enough to me to know something like that without me telling him.

  “What?” I still asked.

  His lips parted and he hesitated. “Are you okay, Vanessa?”

  “Yes. I’m fine.”

  “You would tell me if you weren’t, right?”

  “I would.”

  His shoulders slumped and he frowned. “You look different.”

  “Like how?” I winced.

  “Not so much like my knucklehead kid cousin anymore,” he said with reflection, and the concern in his eyes became more evident. “I know your private life is private and none of my business at all, but I just… want you to know you can talk to me if you need to. About anything.”

  That was really sweet of him. Really sweet, and honestly, I probably had a million things on
my mind. My mind, which at the moment was numb. I was trying to hold on to the strength I had this morning to leave Cole. The strength and reasoning.

  The truth was, as much as I wanted to put on my big girl pants and act like it was all fun, I didn’t want to.

  “Thanks, Gage. I… have a lot on my mind.”

  “Cole?” he asked tentatively.

  I nodded. “Looks like he’s taken up residence in there.”

  “Did you see him last night?”

  I gave him a little smile, definitely giving him credit for his tact and subtle way of asking the obvious question on his mind.

  “I saw him, and I spent the night with him.” I thought I’d just put him out of his misery. The confirmation definitely made him look more worried.

  “And you’re okay?”

  “I’m okay. I’m just being careful, no expectations.” I completely understood what Cole meant about not looking forward to anything. Then you couldn’t be disappointed. “Fun, right?”

  “How about we go downstairs and get some breakfast? Then we can go do some sightseeing or something and head to the game together.”

  “I’d like that.” It was better for me to be with him instead of by myself or with my sisters.

  Before they got with their guys, they were all about fun. Fun every night sometimes with a different guy. To them it was living it up and living large. Living life to the fullest with all the fish in the sea. I guess that was fine for some people.

  It would have to be for me.

  No matter how I felt, or how magical last night had been for me.

  Chapter 14

  Cole

  When I woke up today, I was faced with a situation I never thought I’d find myself in.

  The first thing that happened was I woke up naturally and it was late. Just before twelve, mid-day. The game was at six. I was supposed to be at the stadium by two. The coach warned us specifically not to be late. He had strict plans for us.

  However, when I woke up, it could have been any other day to me, and the only thing that was on my mind was Vanessa.

  I’d reached for her only to come away with the bare sheets and discover she was gone. I’d woken up, discovered she was gone, realized I needed to be at the stadium to get ready for a big game… and the situation that presented itself to me was this.

  Go find her, or get ready for the game.

  That first part was the part that got me and gripped me.

  Go find her…

  After a night with a woman, that was normally the end.

  Vanessa had done exactly what I’d expected from the other women I’d been with, but not what I wanted from her.

  It was almost an unwritten code for a one-nighter to be gone before morning. Last night was, however…more.

  It meant more to me than a one-nighter, and I didn’t quite realize that until I woke up and saw she’d left, and there was no way she would have known that because like every other woman I’d been with, Vanessa knew what to expect from me.

  And that was nothing.

  They knew to expect nothing from me.

  I didn’t go find her.

  I deserved some kind of award for resisting the wild urge that made me want to. I homed in on my sense of responsibility to the team and went to the stadium just in time to hear Coach Simpson’s pep talk/ threat to kill any of us who fucked things up today.

  Everyone cheered when he was done and gathered to start getting ready to go over the game plans and strategy.

  Denver came up to me and punched me in my side. There was a bright smile on his face.

  “Did you do it?” he asked with a smug expression.

  I narrowed my eyes at him, not knowing what the hell he was talking about.

  “What? Did I do what?” I asked.

  He laughed. I could see Matt looking over curiously at us from his locker. He’d avoided me since the other day like the damn plague.

  “Vanessa Cartwright, you sleep with her?” Denver clarified, then I remembered the damn bet.

  I sighed and smirked in humor at myself. When I’d made that bet, it was just stupid fun. It wouldn’t have made me do anything I didn’t already plan to do with her. Everything else just fell into place.

  Me being with her the night before the game could have been any night. I didn’t give a shit about the bet and definitely not the fucking superstitions the coach had.

  I won the bet.

  One thing I wouldn’t do though was break the special bond last night held for me. Not with this asshole.

  “No, man. Didn’t sleep with her.” Bold-faced lie I completely took pride in.

  He laughed at me and shook his head. “Damn, man, I told you. Cough it up then, bro. Two hundred g’s, please.” He held out his hand to me.

  I whipped out my checkbook and wrote him a check for his money, which he took happily.

  As he did, I decided I needed to limit my time with jerks like him. I also realized that something in me had changed. He’d been a friend because he was a guy I could identify with. Not so much anymore.

  There was a lot about what he’d said about me the other day that was completely right. I was bad and definitely not the kind of guy a woman like Vanessa should be with.

  That wouldn’t, however, stop me.

  The time went fast and soon we were marching out onto the field to play.

  Us against The Bears.

  As the national anthem played, I did my habitual gaze out to the bleachers to see who was here for me.

  No one would be able to see me looking from all the way out here, but I still looked and gave my silent gratitude for their support.

  As always, Mom was here with Aunt Lurlene, and Patricia. Both had big Texan hair, while Mom looked chic with her hair bare of a scarf or hat. She looked really good and close to what she normally looked like.

  This season was the first that I looked for anyone else since Dad’s death.

  I knew where the team owners sat. There they were. Peter Cartwright and family. Family included Vanessa.

  My eyes glued to her, and from the great distance between us with the stadium brimming with people, I could feel her gaze on me.

  It was just like high school. All these people cheering. There were multiple groups of women either carrying banners with my name on them saying ‘We Love Cole B’ and other variations. There were the usual football groupies who always stayed close to the front or the exit so they could get close at the start and end of the game. Then there were the fans.

  All these people, and I saw her. Saw her and felt her. Just like before. The girl who would watch from afar thinking I couldn’t see her when I did.

  Her interview question came into my mind at that moment.

  What did I look forward to this season? I’d said nothing.

  The truth was that was a lie.

  What I looked forward to this season was her.

  The Centaurs won 34-33.

  It was a close call and almost had me guessing if Coach was right to be superstitious. As far as I knew I was the only one to have sex the night before the game, and one of us breaking the rule would have been enough to tip the scale.

  But… nope. Coach was way wrong. We won.

  As I’d passed the ball to Gilly and he scored the winning touchdown, my mind switched right out of football mode.

  We won, and Coach Simpson was dead wrong. He could abandon his rules of no sex before game night, but I wouldn’t be the one to tell him that.

  I had bigger fish to fry in the form of a striking brunette who still had something that belonged to me.

  Herself.

  The cheers that erupted from the crowd were deafening, and the excitement rippled throughout the crowd.

  I spared just the right amount of time to acknowledge the win and be excited with my team, but that was all.

  The second we got back inside the changing room, I grabbed my jacket and bag while the guys were literally bouncing off the walls with the excitement at the vict
ory.

  Denver was heading over to me, but I evaded him. I evaded him the same as I did the groupies and headed out to the lounge where I knew the big guns would be.

  Peter Cartwright always came here after a game to mingle with the other team management and owners.

  I thought I’d find Vanessa here, and I was right. She was standing over by the bar with Gage and her two sisters.

  While they talked and laughed, she had that reserved look about her.

  I headed straight to her.

  It was Mia who saw me first and poked Vanessa in her side to get her attention. She motioned to me, and when Vanessa saw me, her eyes widened. Surprise suffused her beautiful face, and the glint in her eyes drew me closer to her.

  The fire from last night that I’d only experienced with this woman raced through me when she moved to walk to me too. We met each other halfway.

  She looked nervous, but she gave me that good-natured smile.

  “Congratulations on your win. You were great,” she bubbled, but there was a quiver in her voice.

  “Thank you.” I said the words, but I had that autopilot sensation again. Where my lips were moving but my brain was elsewhere entirely. So, I said the only thing that came to mind, and it stemmed from what I wanted most. “Come with me.”

  She raised her brows. “What?”

  “Come with me.” I realized how abrupt the request must have been. Also, how strange I must have looked. Mud on my face, my hair sweaty, and me looking ruffled from serious game play that actually wiped me out. But as far as I was concerned, I didn’t want to think about football or anything that wasn’t her until the next game.

  Just like last night, I stretched my hand out to her, showing how serious I was. There were several pairs of eyes on us. People looking on in keen curiosity. Through all of them, I think I felt the weight of Gage’s glare on me the most. Probably because it wasn’t filled with the usual angst and don’t-fuck-with-me tension.

  I spared a second to glance at him but returned my focus to Vanessa.

  When she took my hand, obsession filled me again.