That night, Kina and I went out with Hanson and Lacey. We went to Zuma, the Japanese restaurant that had become a favorite. Kina looked amazing in a sexy variation of the little black dress and high heels that made her legs look fantastic. I had put on a suit.
Hanson and Lacey had dressed up, too. Lacey wore a red dress that made her look fierce with her short black hair, and Hanson wore a suit like mine.
We sat down at the table we’d booked at the restaurant.
The vibe was cheerful. I was madly in love with Kina and with the way she kept looking at me, she felt the same. Hanson and Lacey were both in a good mood.
“It’s quite a leap to do a press release like that,” Lacey said after we’d ordered wine for the table. “I know how much it takes.”
Hanson nodded. “Being in the public eye like that is always hard.”
“It is,” I said. “But this time, it’s about something good, not bad. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me, and that’s all thanks to Kina.”
I looked at her, taking her hand in mine.
“She knows what she’s doing,” Lacey said. She was a PR manager, too, so she understood what it had taken. It was good to have friends who had been in the same place, to have someone to relate to.
“But you must be prepared for a lot of public scrutiny,” Lacey said. “Even if you’re together now and the big drama is over. Your fans will always look out for something to go wrong. The world thrives on drama, and I’m sad to say that it’s too easy to give them something to gossip about.”
“What do you mean?” Kina asked.
Hanson sighed. “Your public face should be something that you keep away from your private life and vice versa. Whatever happens behind closed doors, if you can smile and look happy and in love in front of the cameras, you should be okay.”
Kina glanced at me. I knew that we would fight. Kina and I seemed to do that a lot. But if we could keep it at home, like Hanson said, it made sense that it would work.
“That’s good advice,” Kina said.
Lacey nodded. “It’s good to know what to expect. At first, all the fame and no secrets got to me. You really must try to keep things under wraps. Try to go public with something as late as possible, give yourself time to emotionally adjust to something.”
I watched Kina as Lacey told her what to expect. I knew that it would be hard, but I was used to being in the public eye by now. Kina was only being introduced to this world.
“If it’s anything like what happened with our photos going viral, I think we can handle it,” she said. She looked at me and smiled. I smiled back at her. She was optimistic, she was willing to make it work, and that was all that mattered. We could handle whatever came our way.
The night with our friends was amazing. I felt at home in Miami, playing for the Sharks. It had been a rocky road, but I had good friends now and a woman who meant a hell of a lot to me. Whatever came our way, I knew we could deal with it together. We had each other, our careers, and our friends to get us through it all.
When we finally left the restaurant, it was quite late. We drove back to my place. I was planning on asking Kina to move in with me, let her brother live in her apartment, but not yet. For now, I was just happy we were together.
Kina’s phone beeped.
“What is it?” I asked. The last few times her phone had gone off, it was with scandals. I didn’t want drama so soon into the game, even if we’d be able to deal with it together.
“The article about your press release,” Kina said. She scrolled through it and I watched her with one eye on the road. “It’s good.”
“Yeah?” I asked.
She nodded and smiled at me, putting her hand on my leg. “Very good.”
As we drove home, her phone lit up with articles, tweets, messages, and comments about us. Kina read them out to me as they came in. There were so many of them that, after a while, she only picked out the good ones and let most of them slide. The consensus seemed to be that the fans were happy for us.
They had been following my journey through hardship and pain, and they were happy that I was with someone now. They liked Kina. People commented on how hot I was, how beautiful she was, and how good we were together. Some people congratulated us on keeping our heads held high. Others said they looked forward to seeing Kina at the games, where we knew the cameras would flash on her from time to time.
By the time we got home, we had the whole world behind us.
“I can’t believe the positive response,” Kina said when we got into bed together. “It’s more than I could ever have expected.”
“I know,” I said. “It’s overwhelming. I’m so used to everyone hating me or commenting on my life choices that this is almost a foreign feeling.”
Kina leaned against me. “Well, you better get used to it. I’m sure things are turning around for us. This just shows how happy they are for us.”
“The climate can change very easily,” I said.
Kina nodded. “I know. But no matter what, we’ll still have each other.”
That was true, and that was all I was prepared to say on the topic. I started tugging at Kina’s clothes, eager to get her out of them. I had another topic in mind, and it involved her and me naked in bed together.
Epilogue
Kina
One year later
The first game of the season was always deafening with fans inviting the teams back. The Florida Sharks were playing at home against the Colorado Stallions. I sat in a VIP box with Kyle, ready to watch the game.
This game was very nostalgic to me. Last year, when they played the Stallions, everything had gone up in the air, and it was there that our journey to being together had started. It wasn’t the same now, of course. We weren’t in Denver, and Jacob and I had been together for a year. But it was still a prolific game to me.
“The atmosphere is insane,” Kyle said next to me. I nodded, glancing at him. He looked good, neatly dressed in jeans and a collared shirt. He’d gotten a haircut earlier, and he was clean-shaven.
About two months after Jacob and I had started dating officially, Jacob had asked me to move in with him. We had come to an agreement that Kyle would stay in my apartment, looking after the place at a very low price, provided he tried to pick himself up. I had expected him to get a minimum wage job somewhere and help a bit with rent.
Instead, he’d outdone himself. He’d gone back to college and studied a management degree part-time while he worked as a busboy. As soon as he qualified, he applied for the management position where he’d been working for the time he’d been studying, and they’d hired him because they’d seen his dedication. Kyle ran the restaurant now while the owner traveled, and he was in the process of leasing my apartment over from me.
I couldn’t be happier. He’d really picked himself up, and he didn’t turn to alcohol or drugs at all now. He had a purpose. He had created a life for himself in the wake of his destruction, and I didn’t worry about him anymore.
I turned my attention back to the field where the teams were running out. Jacob was third from the front, and he looked good. He was in peak condition, and the team relied on him now for the wins. In the past year, he had become a true Shark, and he was loved and adored by fans and players alike.
Markus Spears had been traded to the New York Tigers , and we hadn’t heard from him again unless it was about game stats. Jacob’s past had been buried under his successes and our relationship. Sure, there would be days when it resurfaced again. Your past was never just in your past when you were famous. But, it didn’t haunt him anymore, and it didn’t affect his present. What more could a man ask for?
The game went well and by halftime, the score was forty-seven to fifteen. They were going to steamroll these Stallions right back to Denver.
Jacob walked onto the field before the halftime entertainment started and a spotlight zeroed in on him.
“What’s happening?” I asked Kyle.
He only shrugged at me, but he w
as smiling.
“Kina and Kyle Peterson, please come down to the field,” Jacob said, his voice booming over the loudspeakers.
“What is this?” I asked.
Kyle shrugged. “I don’t know, but I guess we better get going. The world is watching.”
I swallowed hard and followed Kyle through the corridors that eventually led us to the tunnel that opened onto the field. When Jacob saw me, he grinned. I thought being in front of all these people would be intimidating, but the lights were so bright, I hardly saw them. I could only hear their roar when we walked out onto the field.
“First,” Jacob said. “I want to award Kyle with this team jersey.”
He held up a team jersey with his name and number on it and the crowd went wild. Kyle clapped Jacob on the back and accepted the jersey, pulling it on. He turned around and pointed at the number and the crowd went wild.
“Why did you keep this secret from me?” I asked Jacob.
He grinned at me. “You’ll see, babe.”
He pressed the mic to his lips again and music started playing over the sound system. For a moment, I thought he was going to start singing, but then he dropped to one knee.
“Oh, my God,” I said, clapping my hands to my mouth. The crowds roared.
“Kina Peterson, love of my life,” Jacob said into the mic. “Will you marry me?” He held out a velvet box.
The whole world was watching. The stadium was full and cameras all over the world were trained on my face. This was the most elaborate proposal I had ever heard of. And I knew exactly what to say.
I grabbed the mic from Jacob. “Yes!”
The crowd exploded, and it was like thunder. Jacob took the ring out of the box and slid it onto my finger. The diamond was so big, it was almost overkill. Almost, but not quite. I was laughing and crying at the same time, and Jacob got to his feet to pull me against him. He spun me around, dipped me, and kissed me.
When he planted me back on my feet, I was giddy with happiness, dizzy with the dip. Kyle looked at me, grinning from ear to ear.
“You knew about this,” I said.
Kyle laughed and nodded. “And I’m more than happy to have gained a brother,” he said.
He gave Jacob a man hug, the two men clapping each other on the backs.
“My sweetheart, I have to get back to winning this game,” Jacob said, pulling me against him again. “But I will see you afterward, and we will seal the deal.”
He winked at me.
When we left the field, the crowd was still going mad. I made my way to our seats, feeling like I was walking on air.
Brian and Sadie, and Hanson and Lacey, came over to congratulate us. Liam was with them, babbling up a storm.
“I can tell you’re so happy,” Lacey said, as she hugged me.
“Yes!” I told her. “I never knew falling in love could be so great.”
“See?” she asked. “I told you so. You should listen to your best friend more often.”
“Yes, I really should,” I agreed.
The Sharks won. The score was ridiculous, they were so far ahead. They could have called the game halfway through; it was pointless for the Stallions to even try to catch up.
“I’m going home,” Kyle said. “I have work in the morning, and I’m tired.”
I nodded and hugged my brother.
“Congratulations, sis,” Kyle said. “I’m so happy for you. Jacob’s a great guy.”
I smiled and thanked him. Jacob really was the best guy.
I made my way down to the locker room where the boys were getting showered and dressed after their game. I waited outside. One by one, the men came out. They all congratulated me, hugging me, kissing me on the cheek. It felt like we were one big family.
When Jacob didn’t show, I knocked on the locker room door and opened it.
“There you are,” I said and stepped in. Jacob was the only one left. I reached for the door and locked it.
Jacob grinned at me, noticing what I’d did.
“I was looking for you,” I said.
I walked to him and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close for a deep kiss. He was freshly showered and smelled like soap and clean clothes. I felt his erection against my hip. I reached between our bodies and stroked him, rubbing my hand up and down his shaft.
Jacob made a growling noise at the back of his throat. And pulled my shirt up roughly, pulling down the cup of my bra and exposing my breast. He took my nipple into his mouth and sucked on it, grazing me lightly with his teeth. I gasped and tipped my head back.
While he sucked on me, his fingers pushed into my pants, and he started working them over my hips. He was getting me naked, and I liked it. Jacob had to step back to finish the job. My pants were on my knees, and I pulled his down in front, pulling out his dick.
I ran my hand up and down it a few times, jacking him off. He groaned, his pupils dilated.
When he reached between my legs, we could both tell how wet I was. Lust overtook him, and Jacob guided me backward until my back hit the wall. I kicked off my shoes while he put on a condom.
My pants pulled off my leg as I lifted it and Jacob wrapped his hand around my thigh. He pinned me against the wall with his body, his cock against my pussy. I helped him to my entrance with my hand, and he pushed into me.
I cried out when he did.
Jacob didn’t start slow, easing me into it. Instead, he pounded into me right away. He fucked me hard, and it was quick and dirty. I loved it when it was like this. Later, he would take me home, and we would make love, but for now, he wanted to fuck me, and I wanted him to claim every inch of me.
I gasped and moaned as he fucked me. He looked me in the eye as he pounded into me, and my orgasm started to grow. I tried to keep it down, but it was hard not to moan and cry out as he penetrated me. The tiles in the locker room and showers didn’t help, either. The sounds of our sex echoed through the large space.
It didn’t matter now, though. If someone heard us, found us out, all that would prove was that we loved each other very much and celebrated our engagement in style. This wasn’t a scandal at all.
I stopped thinking when pleasure washed through my body. An orgasm followed, clenching all my muscles, and I cried out, grabbing Jacob’s shirt in my fists, holding onto him. Jacob orgasmed, too. He emptied himself inside me as I came undone against his body. We orgasmed together, and the connection we made every time we did this was more intense than ever. And it would only get more so.
When I finally calmed down and the orgasm subsided, Jacob pulled out with a grunt. He let my leg down, and I pulled up my pants, fixing what he’d messed up. He fixed his pants, too.
He kissed me, holding my chin with his thumb and his forefinger.
“Let’s go home, baby,” he said. “I want to finish what I started.”
I nodded. Jacob picked up his bag and held out his hand. I ducked under his arm and put my arm around his body. I unlocked the door with my free hand and together, arm in arm we headed out into the bright light that was our future.
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Caveman’s Captive
Copyright © 2018 by Juliana Conners; All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 1 - Elijah
Cheep, cheep. Chirp, chirp. Tweet, tweet.
The sound of birds drew my attention away from focusing on the spot where I was sure I would be able to find my next meal. I had been waiting in the woods for what seemed like a very long time, without seeing a deer.
I didn’t mind though, because I loved being outside and I was certain that one would come my way soon. In the meantime, at least I had the birds t
o keep me company— which is much better than human companionship, in my opinion.
If anyone were to ask me— which no one ever would, since I make it a point not to talk to people— I would say that there were few better feelings in life than being hunkered down in the woods surrounded by thick evergreens dusted with powdery white snow.
The occasional sound of these birds taking flight or saying hello to me, or a lone wolf howling like a freight train whistle, were the only ones that ever broke the welcoming silence, unless there was a deer or other prey alerting me of its presence. Making my home in the woods had turned out to be one of the best decisions that I could have ever made.
The forest had provided me with everything that I could need or want. Finding food was more than a simple task of walking outside my house and looking around for it. The fertile soil had made it possible for a small garden of vegetables to grow, even in the cold climate. And not having much foot traffic counted as a huge plus, because I never had to worry about my crops getting trampled underfoot by unruly or adventurous children or hikers.
The woods themselves had provided a vast array of wildlife such as deer, rabbit, and different birds that made for delicious main courses. Pairing them with fresh picked vegetables selected from my garden transformed a normal meal into a feast fit for a king— though I would hardly consider myself one. There was something very rewarding about sitting down to a meal fully supplied from a day's trip made from both the forest and my own backyard.
There was no doubt about it: Ever since returning home from war, I had grown really fucking comfortable in my solitude. I loved the fact that there was nothing that I needed civilization for. Indeed, there wasn’t anything that I need another person for at all.
Even the cold seemed to provide some sort of comfort. I knew that it was chilly because each breath let out a cloud of smoke from my nose and mouth, respectively. But the cold didn't bother me much when I was out hunting. I focused my mind and energy on becoming one with the woods, so to speak.
Hold Onto Me_A Secret Baby Romance Page 121