by Kelly, Erika
“Like what?” Jake said. “A guy blew up your world. It’s understandable. Just don’t take it out on him. That’s not cool. Deal with it and move on.”
Ryan placed a soft kiss on Sophie’s mouth. “You okay?”
Was she okay? Between the sensual assault of his stroking hands, the heat of his body, and the unsatisfied sexual energy coursing through her, she wanted to climb on his lap and make out with him. She almost didn’t care that she was in a café, surrounded by her friends.
He kissed her again, going deeper. God. Desire rolled through her, sending pulses of electricity through her. “Let’s get out of here.”
Oh, yes.
He turned to Kat. “Can you let us out?” Grabbing Sophie’s hand, he practically pulled her out of the table. “We’ll see you guys later.”
“Hang on.” Jake had never sounded so serious. “Got a quick question for you.”
For one moment Ryan’s grip on her tightened, but then he let out a resigned breath and let her go. “Yeah. Sure.”
She knew he had to deal with whatever was tearing him up, so she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Talk to your friend. I’m going to shower and take a nap. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”
One terse nod without even looking at her, and then Ryan strode out of the restaurant, Jake on his heels.
She watched until she couldn’t see him anymore, dread creeping through her.
What wasn’t he telling her?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Emma’s on her way.” The words crashed like cymbals in Ryan’s head. “Here.”
The normally chill Jake cringed.
“How the hell did she find out where I am?” Standing under a hot sun by the pool, Ryan crossed his arms over his chest.
His friend scrubbed a hand over his mouth, looking remorseful. “Alyssa must’ve told her.”
“Your sister knows where I am?” And why would she tell Emma?
“She wanted to know why Emma was blowing up everyone’s phone. Lys loves you, man. She was worried. I told her we were hangin’ out for a few days at this resort. She wanted to know if you were all right, if you were havin’ fun like me and Dix, and I said, of course not. Ryan’s doing his usual monogamous thing.”
Ryan scraped his hands through his hair. “You told Lys about Sophie?”
“I didn’t mention her name. Just that you had a girl. It was no big deal.”
“Well, it turned out to be a big fucking deal because Emma’s flying out here.” Dammit. “No one was supposed to know, remember?”
“How was I supposed to know your ex was gonna go psycho and start interrogating everyone you’ve ever known?”
“Jesus, that’s why she’s coming here. Because she found out I’m seeing someone.”
“Seeing someone? Do you hear yourself? This is spring break. You’re supposed to be fucking around. No ties, no obligations. And don’t blame anyone but your nutjob ex. She’s the one stirring up trouble for you. Not me, and definitely not Alyssa.”
“We’re leaving the day after tomorrow.” There were no direct flights, so he’d spent the last hour trying to get a message to her. Get her to turn back around in San Juan. He’d tried to get a hold of her mom, her dad, anyone he could think of. “I don’t want her here.”
“You tell her that?”
“Every day since I got here.”
“Tell her to fuck off. Tell her if she shows up you’re gonna ignore her bony ass.”
“I’m not treating her like that. I’ve known her most of my life.”
“See, that’s just it. You think you’re doing the right thing by not hurting her feelings, but really you’re stringing her along. God forbid you ruffle some feathers.” Jake watched him for a moment. “Why are you even staying friends with her?”
“We’re not friends. We’re friendly. That’s how you end long-term relationships.”
“Yeah, I see how well that’s working out. You should write a book about how to end relationships.”
He didn’t give one fuck about Jake’s sarcasm. The only thing he cared about was getting Emma to change her flight. “Jesus, I just want my last two days here. She’s not my problem anymore.”
Jake looked at him, all quiet and intense. “That’s the thing, man. She is your problem. You should’ve made a clean break. But you didn’t. You kept her hangin’ on. And now you gotta deal with it.”
“There you are.”
That familiar voice made every muscle in his body clamp down. He was in no mood. But it wasn’t her fault. “Hey, Carrie.”
The realtor slinked up to him in a bikini that was nothing more than three slashes of material. “What’re you guys up to?”
He couldn’t deal with her right then. “I’m heading up to my room.”
“That’s a great idea. We can order some food, get out of the sun.”
“Yeah, I think I’m just going to catch some of the game.”
“March madness? Oh, hell, yeah.” She turned to a group gathered around a table. “You guys want to go to Ryan’s room? It’s Mich U versus UConn.”
“Fuck, yeah.” Dixon came out of the hotel with Laura and Kat.
“Actually, you can head up to Jake’s room.” Ryan turned to go, but Jake was right behind him.
“Nah, you got that big suite. Ryan’s room it is.”
“I said no.” Ryan got right up in his face.
Several people surrounded them, already making plans. “I’ll order some booze.”
“Get ice, too.”
“What’s your suite number?”
“Look, man, it’s over.” Jake shrugged. “Emma’s on her way, and we leave the day after tomorrow. Let’s just have some fun.”
As soon as the door opened, Carrie went straight for the phone to call room service, Jake found the basketball game on the big screen, and people got busy at the mini bar.
They could have his suite. Ryan didn’t care. He’d text Sophie to let her know he was going for a run.
Someone offered him a beer, but he brushed it away and headed for his room to change into running shoes.
A hand tugged on his board shorts. He turned to see who it was when fingernails scraped into his scalp. Carrie licked her lips, eyes half-lidded.
“You want some company in there?” As she reached for him, he caught her wrists.
Time to set the record straight. “No, I don’t. Look, Carrie, I’m seeing someone.”
She laughed. “Oh, come on. I told you. What happens in Santa Grenada stays in Santa Grenada.” She pressed closer to him. “Your girl will never know.”
“No, I met her here. About twenty minutes after I got here.”
“You mean that girl I’ve seen you with?”
He nodded, but his phone buzzed and he checked it. Because if it was Emma, he was going to—Fuck. It was Coach. “I have to take this.”
She gave him a gentle smile. “Seems like you’ve got a lot going on.”
“Yeah. Excuse me.” He brushed past her, answering the phone. “Coach?”
“Ryan. I got a team to run here, a whole roster full of players who need my attention. I’m going to ask you one question, and I want a straight answer. Did you choose to miss the flight last night or did you not get off the standby list?”
Ryan turned his back on the room. “I chose to miss it.”
“Right. You know there are repercussions to your choices in life.”
“Of course.” Ryan braced.
“Here’s your first. I’m removing you as captain of this team and replacing you with Mike Wilder.”
Ryan stepped out onto the balcony, into the glaring sun.
His coach exhaled into the receiver. “We’ll talk about you being part of the team when you get back.” The line disconnected.
Ryan stared out to sea, the noise from the television, the laughter and clinking of glasses in the room only making it harder for him to think.
Having his captaincy taken from him would definitely impact the draft.
But kicking him off the team? Even right then, he had to do a gut check. But, yeah, he definitely wanted to play his final season.
Would Coach actually do it—kick him off the team?
He quickly texted his dad. Coach called. Not captain anymore.
He was so fucked.
An hour later, when Ryan opened the door to his suite, his body still slick with sweat, he found three times the number of people he’d left behind.
And what the hell? Most of the women were now topless and everyone was drunk. Looked like they’d turned the kitchenette into a full-scale bar with liquor bottles, silver buckets of ice, and high ball glasses.
In the chaos he made a quick scan for his buddies. On the couch, Jake had a girl straddling his lap, her tits in his face, his hands kneading her ass. Dixon danced on the terrace with three girls.
“Hey, handsome.” A topless girl stood unsteadily before him, eyes glazed. She tipped her beer toward him, the cold bottle a shock to his heated skin. “Are you for real? Or are my drunk goggles turning you into a Greek god?”
The door opened, and a flash of red caught his eye. Red heated his blood because it called up Sophie’s bikini. And then energy rushed through him when he remembered he’d never sent her the text letting her know he’d be working out. He hadn’t taken his phone with him, so he had no idea if she’d tried to contact him.
Through the crush of bodies, he’d lost sight of the spot of color. But, fuck, if it was Sophie, she’d get the wrong idea about what he had going on in his suite.
He stepped around the girl, but she caught his arm.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Her small breasts wobbled with her movements. She dribbled her beer onto his chest and then leaned forward to lick it.
“Jesus Christ.” Just as his hand shot out to push the girl away, he looked over and caught the horrible look in Sophie’s eyes as she stood a few feet away, watching.
And then she shut down. Her features just slammed closed. Turning, she disappeared into the crowd.
Oh, hell, no. He shot after her. Pushing through the press of bodies, he caught up to her at the door. “Hang on.” She ignored him, opening it. But he caught her around the waist.
“Let go of me.” She tried to wrench free of his hold, but his fingers tightened.
And now he had to explain why a drunken, topless girl was trying to lick him. “Soph, come on. You don’t think I was actually hooking up with that girl?”
“Shut up.”
She looked somewhere over his shoulder, eyes flaring, and he turned to see Carrie doing a striptease for a couple of guys.
“I have nothing to do with any of this. I just got back from working out.”
“Go to hell, Ryan.” Again, she tried to pull away.
Anger so fierce and volatile swept over him. His whole fucking life was spiraling out of control, but her? I’m not giving her up. Not until he absolutely had to. He hauled her against his chest. She was not leaving him. Bending his knees, he lifted her and strode into his bedroom. He slammed the door and locked it.
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Setting her down, he threw his head back and let out a shout. “I can’t believe this shit.”
“Yeah, it must be so awful getting caught.”
“I didn’t get caught. I wasn’t doing anything.”
“So I saw.”
“Look at me, Sophie. I just got back from working out. See this? It’s sweat.”
“You’re wearing the same board shorts you had on this morning.”
“Yes, and now I have on gym shoes. Why am I arguing with you? You want to make drama? Be my fucking guest. I sure as hell can’t stop you.”
“Oh, my God, you jerk. I am not Emma. You don’t get to put me in the crazy girlfriend box.”
“I didn’t say you were Emma. But can you stop for a minute and think about the situation before you shut me out?”
“Oh, right. I forgot for a second there that I’m the fun spring break fling.” She turned to the door, but he lunged for her, pulling her back. She looked so fierce and wild, shoving her arms at his chest.
“Just stop it. Can you calm down and let me talk to you?”
“I walked in on your orgy, Ryan. You had a topless girl licking you. Things like that don’t just happen. You weren’t some victim.”
“Look at me, Sophie. I just got back from a run. I was going to my room to shower.”
“And a topless girl just happened to lick your chest. I know. It happens to me all the time.” She turned away from him, but he kept her trapped in his arms. “Just let me go. I don’t need this crap.”
“You’re creating it. I know what you saw, but I didn’t do anything.” The anger drained out of him, replaced by the heavy weight of exhaustion. He really should just let her go. Emma was on her way, and everything he’d hoped to get from this break was over. With everything else going on in his life, the one complication he absolutely didn’t need was Sophie.
He loosened his hold. Jake was right. Not the part about fucking other women or partying, but he had to let Sophie go.
She must’ve seen the change in him, because a look of understanding lit her eyes. Without a word, she headed to the door.
Jesus, his chest—it felt like a hand punched through his breastbone and caught his heart up in a meaty fist.
Hand on the doorknob, she turned. “Good luck with everything, Ryan.”
Pain…no, desperation burst free from his chest. “Sophie.” He shouted her name, making her flinch. She stilled. “Don’t leave, Soph. Just…don’t.”
“What do you want from me? God, Ryan? What the hell do you want?”
She was not going to make him say it. “You know what I want.”
“No, actually, I don’t.”
“Get back here.”
“Why? So we can have sex again?”
“Yes, Sophie, I want to have sex with you. I think you know that.”
“Well, guess what, Ryan?” The fierceness came storming back in. “I’m not really interested in being marginalized in yet another person’s life. In yours, I’m the girl you screw on spring break. I’m the escape. And you know what? I was cool with that for a while, but it’s not really working for me anymore. If the only thing I’m getting out of it is feeling like shit, then it’s time for me to take my beach ball and go home.”
“I don’t want to be with anyone else but you. I’ve made that clear.”
“Okay, let’s stop playing games. I know you’re keeping something from me. I saw it in the van on the way back from paragliding. I saw the look you gave Jake when he offered to take me off your hands when we got back here. Did something happen with your Coach? Or is it Emma? Is that what’s making you so tense?”
“I don’t want to talk about Emma. I especially don’t want to talk about her with you.”
“See, this is what I’m talking about. You want to keep me in the little spring fling box. Well, I’m not your spring fling. I’m Sophie Valentine. I have a heart and a brain. I want things. And I feel things. And all those issues you’re sick of in relationships? I expect them. And, sorry to say it out loud, but this is a relationship. Even if it’s got an end-date, it’s still a relationship. And since it’s just moved past the fun phase, I think that’s my cue to leave.”
She had her hand on the doorknob, when he caught her around the waist and tugged her hard against him. “Don’t fucking leave me.”
“Just let it go, okay? It’s over the day after tomorrow anyway.” But she didn’t struggle. She just leaned her head against his shoulder. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
“I get one more day with you. Don’t take it from me.”
“Why?” Her pleading tone gutted him. He knew he should let her go, but…he couldn’t. He just fucking couldn’t.
His palm on her stomach, he lowered his face into her neck, breathing in her sweet, subtle scent. “You make me happy. The rest of my life is fucked up, but you’re my happiness. Come on, you know I wasn’t f
ucking around out there. They came up here because I’ve got the suite, but I didn’t want to party with them, so I went for a run. I wasn’t in the door two minutes before you came in. I don’t want anyone else, and you know that. I’ve proven it to you. Every single damn time, I’ve come after you.”
He saw the moment she relaxed, the moment she heard the truth in his words.
Her hand covered his, and her hips pushed back. His cock surged as it pushed between her legs. She swayed against him, lighting him up.
“Goddamn, you make me crazy.” Turning her in his arms, he lifted her, pressing her against the wall. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms around his neck. And then he kissed her.
The heat between them flared instantly. Desire whipped through him, and he flexed his hips, needing to feel her sweet body against his. Grabbing a fistful of hair, she pulled his head back, turning the kiss carnal.
Hot, raging lust swept over him. Lowering her, he ground his cock against her, and that was it. Grasping her ass tightly, he carried her into the bathroom, not even setting her down to turn on the faucet. Cold water blasted them—both fully clothed—and she shrieked, laughing. He kicked off his shoes while reaching for the bottom of her cover-up and tugging it over her head.
Laughing, she wiggled out of his arms and stepped away from him. “I got it.”
“Now, Soph.” The laughter in her eyes, the way it made her sparkle, did something to his heart. Made it hurt. Made his pulse beat too quickly in his neck. He yanked down his board shorts, tossed them out of the stall.
He grabbed her hips, tugged her closer, and reached for the tie at the back of her neck. Blood roared in his ears as he pulled. Jesus, he could barely draw a full breath in anticipation of revealing her lush breasts. As she reached behind to untie the bikini, he cupped her, stroking his thumbs over her nipples. She drew in a breath, her lids lowering, and her back arching. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.
Steam covered the glass walls, closing them in, making him feel like they were the only two people in the world. She’s mine.
