by Toni Aleo
She shook her head, taking a step toward him. Her body was close; he could feel the heat of her and knew he’d miss it once space was put between them again. Karson craved to press her against the counter and kiss the living hell out of her, but before he could, she said, “Obviously, you didn’t get the memo that said I’m off-limits.”
With his eyes locked with hers, his mouth came up at the side. “Off-limits, why?”
“You don’t want me. You think you do, but I promise you’ll return me the minute you have me,” she said sadly as she looked away. “This was fun. You’re insanely hot, and any girl would be lucky to have you ruthlessly flirt with her, but believe me, you don’t want me.”
“I disagree,” he said, taking a step toward her, closing the distance between them. Her breasts touched his chest, and it took everything out of him to form words as he got lost in her eyes. “I think I’d treasure you. I think it would surprise you how much I do want you.”
She gasped for breath as she took a step back, putting distance between them. Her eyes told him that Karson had her, but soon she was shaking her head as she whispered, “Don’t waste your time, Karson.”
She went to walk away, but he took her wrist in his hand, stopping her. Bringing her hand up, he placed a kiss to the inside of her palm and looked deeply into her eyes as he said, “I’d be wasting my time with anyone but you.”
Her eyes softened, but still she shook her head. “Just let me go and don’t look back. Believe me, you’ll be thankful later.”
“I don’t know if I can let go. I’m sprung.”
Her eyes went wide as she shook her head. “You don’t even know me!”
He smiled confidently as he held her gaze. “I know that if I let you go, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
“How do you know that?”
“’Cause I know what I want, and you’re it.”
“You’re crazy,” she accused, shaking her head. “All you know is my name, and you are going to regret getting to know me. Please, let me go.”
“So let me get to know you, prove to you that what we are both feeling is real, and let’s see what happens.”
She only blinked as she tore her hand from his. Her eyes narrowed as she slowly shook her head. “I don’t know what you are doing, but this is crazy. So just stay away from me, okay? Don’t waste your time.”
Turning, she walked away from him but, like he knew she would, she looked back. He could see every emotion in her sweet eyes and knew that she wanted him. He didn’t know what was holding her back from him, but he was going to do everything to make her realize he was it.
As he watched her walk away, he knew that even though he could score on the ice with no problem, scoring with Lacey Martin was going to be a challenge. When she reached her brother and a short brunette, she looked back at him, her eyes wide as they locked with his. His heart lurched in his chest, and a slow grin curved his lips as he whispered, “Challenge accepted.”
Karson King was following her.
That was all there was to it. As much as she wanted to think it was creepy, she couldn’t because she liked it. She liked him. No matter how much she wanted to be mad at herself for it, she couldn’t. Call her an idiot, but there was something invigorating about someone as hot as Karson King chasing after her. Something about his cockiness just turned her on, and she wanted to know more about him, but she knew it was a bad idea. Nothing could come out of it, and she knew the minute he had her, he’d run, but nothing said she couldn’t enjoy seeing him all over the place.
For a week, he didn’t say anything. He’d just show up at the places she was. It wasn’t a big deal, but then he started showing up and saying little things. Like hi, or how are you, funny seeing you here. It was mind-boggling. Maybe it was a coincidence, but she was pretty sure she had never seen him at the library or coffee shop before, and she went to both places religiously.
Like now, she was sitting there, enjoying her mocha coffee, and he just strolled in like he owned the damn place. As she watched him, he made his way to the counter and placed an order, never once looking at her. However, she knew that he knew she was there. Drinking in the sight of him, Lacey found herself breathless. He was beautiful. He wore a dark red beanie that covered his hair with a pea coat that fit him perfectly. In her head, Lacey imagined them cuddled up next to each other, walking through downtown as the snow fell. It was sad, but she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be wrapped in his arms. She could know. He had made it plain and clear that he wanted her, but it was just too scary.
He paid for his coffee, taking it and heading toward her, sitting slowly on the couch beside the table she was sitting at. She watched him as he sipped his drink before placing it on the table and pulling out the same book she had been reading the day before when she was in the library: Eldest by Christopher Paolini. Seeing that, she knew that this was no damn coincidence. Glaring, she stared at him until he finally looked up, meeting her gaze.
“Lacey, funny to see you here,” he said, a sly grin on his face.
Their eyes locked, and everything inside her went hot. Ignoring her screwed-up feelings, she pointed at him as she sneered, “Funny, my ass, you’re following me! Reading the same book I am!”
He scoffed, laying his book down. “Conceited much?”
Her eyes went to slits as she muttered, “Whatever.”
She turned, looking down at her books to do what she came to do—study. Rachel was supposed to come, but she had texted saying she had plans. Lacey was pretty sure her plans involved Grady, but since she wasn’t ready to accept that her best friend was shacking up with her big brother, she didn’t ask and had come to study on her own. Letting out a long breath, she took her highlighter and tried to study, but knowing that Karson was within reach made it very hard. She could feel him staring. She wanted to want to tell him to stop, but she didn’t. She was all kinds of screwed up—a glutton for punishment.
When Karson suddenly appeared at the same table as her, she sat back and met his playful gaze with an angry one. “What are you studying?” he asked, looking down at her books before smiling up at her. “Business? Are you going to own your own or work for the big man?”
She bit into her lip, knowing she should pack her book up and leave. Instead, she answered him. “I want to start my own.”
He nodded, his grin growing. “That’s awesome. What kind of business?”
“I want to design lingerie for women.”
“Wow, I didn’t expect you to say that! I knew you were going for design, too, but I was thinking home interior or something.”
She found herself smiling as she shook her head. “No, I want to design supersexy pieces for women to feel pretty in,” she admitted. “All kinds of women. Small, medium, large, and plus-size. I also want to design bras for women who have suffered from breast cancer and had to have a mastectomy, but can’t afford to get breast implants. I want all women to feel sexy in my pieces.”
Wow. Did she really just blubber all that to him? Looking up, she found him watching her. His eyes were locked on her, and she could tell he was listening to every word she said.
With a grin on his face, he said, “That’s amazing. I bet you’re talented.”
Lacey’s cheeks burned as she slowly nodded. “I think so. My best friend, Rachel, is really good too. We’ve talked some of doing it together. Starting the business and all together, I mean, but I’m not sure. We’ll see what happens.”
“Well, if you ever need someone to check out your designs, you can model for me any time you want,” he said with a wink.
She knew he was just playing around, being a regular guy, but little did he know that would never happen. Looking down, she shrugged her shoulders. “Highly doubt that.”
“Just offering my services.”
“Duly noted.”
He laughed, and Lacey had to look up to take him in. His eyes were dark and oh so gorgeous. She could just imagine posing for him in
basically nothing and knew that once he saw that she had no breasts, he’d be out the door so fast she wouldn’t know what happened. All she’d be left to do would be to pick up the pieces of her heart, and she couldn’t allow that to happen. Guys like Karson King wanted perfect girls, not ones who were sick and didn’t have all the right pieces. All Lacey had were scars, ones that would scare Karson away. As her eyes flooded with tears, she began to gather her things.
“Hey, whoa, what happened? You aren’t leaving, are you?”
She nodded, her eyes glued on her book bag as she tucked her things in it. “Yeah, I have to go.”
“No, don’t,” he pleaded as she stood, putting her jacket on and then her scarf and hat.
“Sorry, I have to,” she muttered, heading out of the coffee shop. She didn’t think he’d follow her, but she soon realized that Karson was a very determined person. When his fingers wrapped around her wrist, she swung around, pulling it away from him. “Don’t touch me.”
His hands came up in a calming way, palms up at her. “I’m sorry. Please, don’t leave. I just want to talk to you.”
Shaking her head before he even finished, she said, “Karson, nothing will happen between us. Don’t you get that?”
“No, because I know you like me and I like you, so let’s do this.”
She scoffed, trying so hard to lie, but she was sure it didn’t work as she said, “I don’t like you.”
He laughed, proving her suspicions. “Whatever, don’t lie to me. I can see it in your eyes—the way your body responds to only my voice. You want me as much as I want you, but I’m not saying let’s jump into bed. I want more than that. Let’s get to know each other, find out what makes each other tick. I love listening to you talk, and I just want to know more about you. I think that if you got to know me, you’d agree that I’m worth getting to know.”
Letting out a breath, deflated, she said, “It isn’t that I don’t think you’re worth getting to know, Karson. I know you are, and I know it would be a pleasure, but it’s just that I’m not worth it. Someone like you doesn’t go for someone like me. There are things about me that would have you running for the hills.”
Taking a step toward her, he reached out but then stopped. “Can I hold your hands while I say what I have to say?”
“I’d rather you didn’t,” she whispered, lost in the depths of his dark eyes.
“But if I do, you won’t hit me, will you?” he asked with a small grin.
Her mouth pulled up as she slowly shook her head. With his grin growing, he took her hands with his, lacing his fingers with hers before looking down into her eyes. Heat coursed through her body as she continued to get lost in his eyes. He was so gorgeous, so big, and as much as she wanted to run from him, she also wanted to press herself up against him and rub her nose along the scruff of his beautiful face.
“Now, as I was saying, I think you are worth it. I think that meeting you proved why no other girl stood a chance with me. I know we just met, but I feel this crazy thing in my chest for you. I am drawn to you, I want you, and I can’t allow you to push me away. I’m not running—I’m here. You’re right; you aren’t the type of girl I’d usually want to fool with, but you are the type I’d run across the earth for. You got me going crazy, Lacey, and my life will never be the same after you.”
His words were music to her ears, everything that a girl wanted to hear, but Lacey knew those words were meant to be for someone else—not to be wasted on her. She went to tell him that, but before she could, his lips met hers and the world came off its axis. Everything stopped as Karson’s lips moved against hers. With her eyes closed tight, her hands squeezed his as he kissed the living crap out of her. When he ran his tongue along her bottom lip, she knew it was a bad idea to open her mouth, but she couldn’t stop herself. Soon, she deepened the kiss. Removing his hands from hers, he took her hips in his hands, bringing her against him as her arms went to wrap around his neck. Pulling back slightly, only for air, his eyes searched hers as they both gasped for breath.
But then he let her hips go, slowly running his hands up her ribs. She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but his hand knocked into her left breast. Suddenly, the little kiss cloud he was intoxicating her with was gone, and reality set in.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she took in long pulls of air. With a goofy grin on his beautiful face, he cupped her face before saying, “I didn’t mean to do that. Not yet, at least.”
Desire swirled in his eyes. His head dropped in for another kiss, but she backed away out of his arms and put her hands up to stop him from coming for her. “This can’t happen.”
“Why?” he asked, his arms out. “Please don’t lie and say you didn’t feel every bit of that.”
Her eyes clouded with tears, and she wanted nothing more than to hide. “It doesn’t matter what I feel, Karson. This won’t work. Please stop following me. Please just leave me alone.”
And with that, she turned and took off toward her dorm, thankful that he didn’t follow her.
"Well then,” Karson muttered as he stood in the snow and watched Lacey run from him. It was obvious that she didn’t want him to follow her. He saw the tears in her eyes and didn’t understand what was going on, but he wasn’t giving up. After a kiss like that and the way she felt in his arms, he’d walk through fire for that girl. He knew it was crazy, but he couldn’t help what he was feeling. She was just so unbelievable. Not only was she gorgeous and funny, she was driven. What eighteen-year-old girl wanted to help women who have had to lose their breasts to cancer feel sexy? It was mind-blowing. She was amazing, and Karson had every intention of making that girl his.
He understood that his life was up in the air. The scouts from the game a couple of weeks back loved what they saw and said that they would be in contact with his dad, who was also his agent. His dad felt good and believed that he’d go first or second pick for the draft. His dreams were coming true, but nothing would be right unless Lacey were there with him. He knew that there was a good chance she wouldn’t leave Chicago, and that was fine. He’d do a long-distance relationship with her. He’d do anything just to know she was his.
He was moving fast, but that was just how he was. He always just jumped in and worried about everything else later. But his feelings did scare him. He felt a bit like he was obsessing over the gorgeous blonde who reminded him of a tall Tinker Bell, but he couldn’t help it. Everything he learned about her, he liked, and he felt like a stalker with how much investigating he had done on her. It was completely innocent; he just wanted to know her and show her that he was the man for her.
“Why are you watching a girl run? Wait, that’s a dumb question. You’re my horndog brother, that’s why.”
Karson laughed as he glanced over at his baby sister. Kacey smiled up at him, her brown eyes shining through the falling snow. She wore a puffy red jacket and a large, knitted hat, with her long brown hair falling along her shoulders.
“Shut up,” he barked at her as Lacey disappeared into the quad.
Kacey laughed as she shifted her hockey bag up on her shoulder and switched her stick to the other hand. “No, but really, what are you doing? It’s freezing out here.”
“I’m stumped. That girl is running from me, and I don’t know what do it about it.”
“A girl, run from you?” she teased, “That’s odd, what did you do?”
Glaring at her, he said, “I didn’t do anything but tell her she should give me a chance. I’m a catch, you know. Girls like me.”
“Yeah, dumb ones. I like her already. She’s obviously smart.”
“I don’t like you,” he declared.
“I love you, too. So anyway, I see that you are in deep with this girl. Here is my suggestion—romance her a bit. Don’t just expect to show up and have her fall for you. Good girls take time to get.”
Eyeing her, he asked, “How do you know I’m in deep?”
“Because I know you; you don’t chase after girls. She’s specia
l, so don’t give up. I bet you she won’t know what hit her once you turn on the King Charm. Can’t wait to meet her.”
With nothing but a nod, Kacey started for the rink as Karson took in everything she just said. He knew that Lacey was special, and the more he thought about it, the more he knew Kacey was right. He was in deep, over a girl he just met, and he wasn’t the least bit worried about it. She had his heart, and he wasn’t going anywhere until he had hers.
For the next week, he continued to show up at the places she was. The only problem was that now, she wouldn’t look at him. She didn’t even acknowledge him. Sitting in the cafeteria, his mind was muddled with thoughts of Lacey. He was sure after a week of seeing her every day, multiple times, would have her wanting to be with him, but it wasn’t working. She wasn’t affected by his charm at all. It was discouraging, but Karson was a winner and he was going to freaking win.
“Yo, King!”
Karson looked over from where he was reading to see a few of his freshmen teammates coming toward him. This meant they had some information on Lacey. Closing the book, he sat up.
“She sings with the Catappellas and is performing tonight in Bradford Hall at six,” Devin said, with Johnny bouncing beside him.
Checking his watch, he saw he had an hour before he had to get over there. “Cool, thanks, guys.”
“No problem,” Johnny said before they both walked away.
“Having freshmen stalk your newest conquest is just sad, King,” Grady said.
“Fuck off, I can’t be everywhere. I need to know these things since she won’t give me anything to work with.”
“Aw…poor Karson isn’t having a girl fall to the ground with her legs open? However will you go on?”
“Fuck you,” Karson sneered as Grady laughed.
Not saying anything else, Karson returned to his book. It was the same one he had seen Lacey reading, and he had to admit, it was pretty badass. He wasn’t much of a reader, but from the moment his eyes hit the pages, he was hooked.