Julia lost her grip on the edge of the pool and sank back down into the clear water. Mitch squatted down and grabbed her hand when she reached up for the edge again. He pulled her up and out.
“Geez, don’t do that. How long have you been watching?” she demanded.
“Since the beginning of your practice.”
If his words shocked her she didn’t show it as she grabbed her chamois and dried herself off.
“Then you saw some really crappy dives.”
Mitch chuckled. “Yep, I have to admit I’ve seen you dive better. But that last one—whoa, that was spectacular.”
“Thanks. It felt good to finally do a decent dive.” She paused and faced him. “Not that I’m complaining, but what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at practice?”
Everything she said was true. He did have to compete again and he should’ve been practicing, but he wanted to see Julia.
“Yep, but I told Anabel that after last night, I only wanted a light workout seeing as I have to compete later this evening. It took some persuading, but she agreed.”
Mitch glanced around the diving pool. More people were coming in now, and he didn’t want their conversation overheard.
“Are you done, or do you want to do some more dives?”
“I don’t know. Why do you want to know?”
“Because if you’re done, I thought maybe you could join me for something to eat. I remembered you’re always hungry after a practice session.”
Her eyebrow rose at his comment. “Like you aren’t as well after you’re done practicing.”
Mitch laughed. “Guilty as charged.”
When they had been dating they’d often arranged their training schedules to match. Afterward they’d always gone to a café where they pigged out on bacon, eggs, hash browns, and strawberry milkshakes, as caffeine was a substance they both avoided.
“Give me ten minutes. I want to go over a couple of my dives again, and then something to eat sounds good.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you out the front.”
“All right.”
With that Julia walked away and headed back up to the platform. He watched as she waited for the person in front of her to complete their dive. He may not be a judge or a diving expert but he’d watched Julia enough times to know that the person in front of her, while good, wasn’t up to the same standard.
He headed out into the sunshine to wait.
* * *
He’d expected her skin to have the lingering aroma of chlorine, but instead an enticing floral scent teased his nostrils. Mitch plunged his hands into his pants pockets to prevent himself from grabbing Julia’s hand; maybe going to find some food with Julia wasn’t wise. If he took her hand, he’d be tempted to pull her closer so he could bury his nose in her neck and inhale deeply, before kissing the same spot. Did her skin still taste sweet?
“Any idea where you want to go?”
What would she do if he said he wanted to take her back to his room and feast on her? Drake was at a session in the gym, and he mentioned something about getting some physio on his ankle. So they would have the room to themselves for a while.
Maybe they could get takeaway.
Or maybe he could get his hormones under control.
“How about we go to the café in the village?”
“That’s going to be pretty crowded.”
With the direction his thoughts were heading, being in a crowd was probably the best thing for the both of them. But if she was talking about it being crowded, did that mean she wanted to be alone with him, too? Nah, it was his imagination running away with him. He hadn’t seen her and Brett making an effort to hang out together, but that didn’t mean anything. He couldn’t watch her all hours of the day. And he’d caught a glimpse of them together when the whole team had congregated together before the opening ceremony. They hadn’t seen him, but he’d seen them. The last thing he wanted to think about right now was Brett Hunter. He put up with Brett because he was a teammate and a good swimmer.
Why was he thinking about this shit? He finally had an opportunity to have Julia all to himself. He needed to take advantage of that.
“Do you know of a place where it’s not crowded?”
Julia stopped walking, and he followed suit. Thanks to her sunglasses, he couldn’t see her eyes so he had no idea what she was thinking. The way she was chewing on her bottom lip gave him some idea that nerves were vying for top place within her.
“Well,” she started then stopped, running her tongue across her bottom lip. The action made his body harden, remembering the feel of that tongue on him. “We could grab something to go and then eat in my room. Brooke’s not going to be back for a little while. She had practice then she was going to spend time with Dane.”
“Dane? The Australian who beat me and almost beat me in the 400m individual medley two nights ago? That Dane?”
“Ahh, yeah. That one.”
“Right.”
She held her arms up in surrender. “Look, you know what happens at the Games. People hook up.”
He chuckled. What she’d said was true. There was something about the atmosphere that encouraged people to hook up for a few days of fun. He and Julia had first met in London at the last Olympics. They’d talked, but that had been it. It wasn’t until they reconnected at one of the regional competitions a couple of years after London that he decided he wanted to see more of her. Fortunately, the feeling had been mutual. Until it had all fallen apart after the allegations of bribery came to light.
God, why couldn’t he stop thinking about that?
“Mitch! Do you want to get something to go, or did you want to eat at the café, or do you want to forget this whole thing?”
“No.” His response came out harsher than he’d intended. “No, I don’t want to forget this whole thing. Hell, why do you think I came to your practice? I came to see you.”
“Okay. Well, I’m glad you came to see me.”
Mitch closed the distance between them, knowing it wasn’t the best idea. He didn’t care what was happening around him. He pulled Julia close, lowering his head until his lips almost touched hers.
Right now, he didn’t care what had gone on in the past and what might happen in the future. He wanted to live in the here and now. Even though it could be the stupidest thing he’d ever done, especially with so much still up in the air between them, he couldn’t stop himself if he wanted to.
“This is what I really want to do.”
He captured her lips with his. She offered no resistance, her mouth opening beneath his. Her lips tasted faintly of strawberry, and he knew she must have slicked her lips with her favorite lip balm. He wrapped his arms tighter around her until her breasts were squashed against his chest.
With her in his arms, her body pressed intimately against him, her taste on his tongue, he wanted to tell her that what came between the last time they’d been intimate and now didn’t matter, because there was still something strong happening between them. Something that he couldn’t deny, and the way her fingers dug into his back, she couldn’t either.
He pulled his lips away from hers, pressing small kisses along her jawline toward her ear. He sucked on her lobe, and the sound of her moan directed his blood to his dick.
“We have to stop, Mitch.”
Slowly he became aware of his surroundings, of the birds whistling in the trees. The sound of footsteps as people walked past them. The different languages spoken around him. The realization struck that they stood on the path for everyone to see what they were doing.
“Yes, we do.”
Suddenly, food wasn’t as high on his list of priorities as getting Julia alone. Mitch entwined his fingers with hers and led them toward the building housing his room. He had no idea where her room was, didn’t plan on asking in case it was in the total opposite direction.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Somewhere where there’s not a chance of us being interrupted.”<
br />
“What about food?”
“We’ll figure that out the closer we get to my room.”
The idea of going to his room must have appealed, as she didn’t voice any objections.
It wasn’t long before they were in the air-conditioned comfort of the building where he and Drake were staying.
“I’m in the building next door,” she murmured as they headed toward the elevators.
“Convenient.”
“I suppose.”
Adrenaline pumped through his veins with each step he took. He was fighting the urge to once again take her in his arms. It was so stupid to be doing this. He hadn’t seen or spoken to her in months and yet, a week after seeing her at the airport, all he wanted to do was reacquaint himself with her body. See if all the sensitive areas he’d found while they were dating were still as responsive to his touch as they’d once been.
The elevator arrived, and as some members from the Swiss team piled out, he ushered Julia into the empty cart.
He reached for her but she took a couple of steps away.
“Don’t, Mitch. Not here.”
He gave a short, sharp nod and then redirected his attention to the illuminated square counting up the numbers to his floor.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight, finally.
The doors whispered open. He waited until Julia preceded him out of the elevator before cupping her elbow.
They reached the door, and he extracted his key card from his pocket and slid it through the scanner to unlock the door. The rooms were nothing special. They didn’t need to be. They were neat with two beds. Not as big as a queen-sized bed but bigger than the single he’d slept in as a boy. There was a small kitchenette and a bathroom that, thankfully, the door to was shut. While he tried to keep his things in order, Drake tended to have an issue with personal space and usually spread his stuff all over every surface possible.
The air-conditioner blew softly over him, the temperature probably cooler than what Julia was used to, given the way she was rubbing her arms.
“Why do guys’ rooms have to be so much colder than a girl’s room?”
He slid his arms around her and brought her back flush against his chest. “It’s all a ploy, you know.”
“A ploy?”
“Yeah, it gives us an excuse to warm our dates up.”
She swiveled her head so she looked up at him, a smile on her face. “Is that right?”
“Yes it is.” All he could think about was touching her lips with his own again. He’d locked the door on the way in. They were all alone. No one was likely to interrupt them.
“I thought we were here to talk,” she whispered as she turned in his arms so that her breasts now brushed up against his chest.
“Talking is overrated.”
Her fingers tiptoed up his chest, his muscles twitching beneath her touch. “Don’t you think we have a lot to talk about before we take this any further?”
He pulled at her shirt tucked into her capri pants, needing to feel her flesh beneath his fingers again. “Jules, you know and I know that talking was never on the cards. You were the one who suggested we go back to your room.”
Once he got the shirt out of her pants, he tugged it up. She offered no resistance and raised her arms, allowing him to whisk the clothing over her head. He tossed it to the ground.
He moved his hands to the back strap of her bra; he squeezed and twisted the catch, the little metal hook and eyes coming apart easily.
“This is what was always going to happen,” he murmured against her skin. “You, me and a bed. It was as inevitable as the sun rising in the east.”
“You’re right.”
He didn’t give her a chance to say anything else as he possessed her lips once again. He trailed his hands around to cup her breasts. The weight was familiar in his hands, as if it were only a couple of weeks, not months, since he’d last touched them. Her moan as he brushed a thumb over her nipple vibrated against his lips.
The need to feel her skin to skin on the bed threatened to overwhelm him. Mitch pulled his lips away from hers and ripped off his shirt before dealing with his pants, glad he’d worn flip-flops instead of running shoes. In seconds he was naked; Julia had done the same.
He took a moment to look at her. God, he’d missed her. Her breasts, the perfect size to fit in his palm. Her muscle definition, a tribute to the regular exercise regime or running and light weights she did to keep herself in shape for her sport.
But she had a softness about her, too. A softness that called deep to his soul. A softness he couldn’t wait to lose himself in again.
“Jules, I’ve missed this.”
She cupped his cheek. “Me too.”
This time it was Julia who closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around him. He scooped her into his arms, reveling in the feel of her against him, and carried her to the bed, all the while letting her know through his tongue thrusting in her mouth just what he planned to do to her.
He placed her on the bed and lay over her, trailing his lips from hers down her neck until he found her breast. He sucked the nipple into his mouth while massaging her other breast with his hand. Her fingers dug into his hair, the pain welcome as he tortured her with his tongue and hand. Her hips thrust up, telling him exactly what she wanted.
Mitch had dreamed about this moment, the moment where he had Julia back in his arms, for so long. Perhaps in the back of his mind he’d known that after the Olympics, he would try to sort things out with her, but it had been a thought he hadn’t allowed himself to fully form.
“More, Mitch. Give me more.”
He knew exactly what more was, and he was happy to give it to her. He released her breast with a pop and peppered kisses down her body until he reached her sex. Her musky aroma, combined with the floral fragrance of her soap, was a heady combination. He placed an open mouth kiss over her mound before sliding his tongue between the slick folds. Her muscles quivered with every stroke of his tongue. Her legs opened wide, giving him better access. His own body was bursting with need. He knew if he didn’t get inside of her soon, he’d blow his load. It had been a long time since he’d been with anyone. No one had appealed to him after he’d had Julia.
He inserted a finger into her slick passage and began to thrust. Her hips moved in time with him. Her muscles clenched around his finger, and he knew she was close to her orgasm. He added a finger, and it was enough to send her over the edge. He lapped up her juices as she came against his mouth.
Mitch lifted his head from between her thighs. Julia’s head was thrown back, and her mouth was open as her body came down from its release. He planned to put that look on her face again. Moving up her body, he reached over to the bedside table drawer. Every athlete was given a supply of condoms. Mitch had never thought he’d use them. But he hadn’t been with Julia at the other Games either. And even though he and Julia weren’t exactly together now, he couldn’t be happier breaking his no condom use track record with her.
He ripped open the packet and rolled the latex over his hard length. His body screamed at him to take her, enter her in one quick thrust. But he wanted to prolong the magic between them. Once again, he found the soft flesh between her neck and shoulder. He pressed kisses there as his hand skimmed down her body. The muscles jumped beneath his fingers as he went.
God, he’d never known her to be this responsive. Hopefully, it was because she’d had a sex drought like he had. Mitch firmly pushed those thoughts away. He didn’t want to think about another man running his hands over Julia. Doing to her what he’d just done. He’d never considered himself a possessive person—until now.
Julia was his.
Even though he knew she was more than ready for him, Mitch ran his fingers along her pussy, flicking at her clit.
“Don’t tease,” she moaned.
“Oh, I’m not.” With a flex of his hips, he slid smoothly inside o
f her.
Heaven.
That’s the only word he could use to describe the feelings flowing through him as he sank balls deep. He stopped and enjoyed the sensations sparking between them. Then, with slow, measured movements, he slid out and back in again. The need to draw out what they were doing was almost eclipsed by his body demanding he increase the pace until he forgot where he ended and she began. They were a team. And as a team they would reach the finish line together.
Julia’s fingernails dug into his ass. “Move, Mitch. Please,” she begged.
Giving into to her request, he increased his pace, slowly, until they again moved in tandem. She rained kisses over his face, whispering words he’d never heard from her before.
“Fuck me hard, Mitch. I need you so much.”
The muscles in his lower back prickled in anticipation of his own release. Her inner muscles clamped around his cock tighter as another orgasm ripped through Julia.
There it was. The look of complete satisfaction and happiness etched all over her face, and it sent him over the edge. He called out her name as he emptied into her. With a final thrust he collapsed on top of her before rolling to the side, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to catch his breath. Julia’s chest doing the exact same thing. The sounds of their ragged breathing filled the room.
A sense of peace rippled through Mitch. Never had he and Julia slept together before a race. Guys in the locker room talked about how they had to have a pre-race fuck. Other guys said it made them too relaxed and they invariably lost the race. In a few hours Mitch would find out if it helped or hindered him. But one thing he did know: Regret wasn’t going to be an emotion he experienced. If he didn’t have to go to practice he would be tempted to go for a second round.
As he lay there, he could feel her beginning to tense as she came down from the high of her two orgasms.
Mitch looked over at her to find her eyes wide as the reality of what they’d shared hit her.
“No regrets, Jules. No regrets.”
9
Once again, Julia found herself in the crowds watching the finals of the day’s swimming events. Only a few hours ago she had been wrapped in Mitch’s arms. A blissful moment out of time that couldn’t happen again. Too much was at stake. The 200m freestyle was one of his favorite events, more so than the 400m. Brett had the top time and the best lane for the final.
Fighting to Win (The Elite Book 1) Page 5
