Brayden sat in silence, mulling over my words. “I see what you did there.” He pointed his finger at me, smiling. “You turned that all around on me because of my reputation.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Sometimes you just have to have an outside perspective to see everything clearly.”
“I still don’t like it,” he whined as his new drink was delivered.
“No one is telling you that you have to, but just for your sister’s sake, you might want to keep your opinions to yourself and let this play out a bit before you hulk out on her.”
“Fine!” he exclaimed, grabbing my hands in his. “As long as you help distract me.”
“Are you sure you’re ready?” Brayden asked me for the third time.
I grabbed his belt, starting to fumble with the buckle. “I have wanted this since the first time you got me into this bed.”
He pulled my shirt up over my head. “How do you want it, baby?” he growled before letting his teeth sink into my neck. I jumped a little from the pain.
“Too much?” he asked, retreating.
I pulled him back to me. “I’m just not used to someone biting me.”
We started making out. It had been so long since I had slept with anyone that I felt like that damn Madonna song should be playing on loop as we did the deed.
Brayden’s fingers pulled at my bra and jeans until I was in nothing but my black lace thong. He shoved up from the bed, his gaze devouring my body as he got down to his boxers.
“How long has it been, Karla?” he asked in his husky bedroom voice.
I bit my lip. “Too long.”
“Was he the last one?” I knew Brayden was asking about James, and it was sad to say that, for more than two years, all my orgasms had been brought to me by a battery-operated O-maker.
I nodded.
Brayden knelt on the bed. “I am going to give you something I have never given to any woman.” He pulled me to my knees so we were looking at each other.
“What’s that?” I naïvely asked.
He softly kissed me before answering, “My submission.”
I pulled away from him. I had no earthly idea what he was talking about.
He read my face and continued without me having to ask another dumb question. “I am a very dominant lover, Karla. I am usually rough and vulgar and pull pleasure out of my partner by first inflicting pain. Tonight, you’re going to be in complete control. You can do as much or as little as you’re comfortable with. I will walk you through it if you want me to, or you can just explore. Whatever you want to do, you can.”
I rolled my fingers down his chest, feeling all his toned muscles. I traced the swallow tattoo over his heart, the one he had gotten for his mother after her passing. “What if I just want you to make love to me? Gentle and sweet.”
I looked deep into his eyes as a small smile played on his lips. “Your wish is my command.”
He laid me down on my back, slowly pulling my lace underwear off. His soft lips traveled from mouth down my neck and over my collarbone. Without stopping, he reached over and opened the top drawer of his nightstand.
“Wait.” I shifted a little. “Don’t use a condom.”
He made sure I was looking right at him. “Are you certain?”
I gently kissed him before replying. “I want to really feel you. I’m on the pill. I trust you.”
Brayden shut the drawer and continued to kiss over my body. “May I go down on you?” he asked before slowly starting to suck on my nipple.
“Yes.” I exhaled slowly; it felt so amazing how gentle and tender his touch was.
Right as his tongue connected with my clit, electricity coursed through every cell in my body. “Holy fuck!” I cried out as he plunged his tongue into my wetness.
“That good?” He laughed a little.
“Don’t stop,” I moaned, arching my back to get my pussy as close to him as possible.
My entire body started to shake and Brayden pulled away. “You’re going to have to save that orgasm for my dick, babe. I really want to feel all of it.”
I bit my lip, throwing my head back onto the pillow as Brayden got back on top of me. The head of his dick rubbed over my swollen bud gingerly before sliding into my tight opening. The way his cock filled me was something I had never experienced before. I wasn’t a stranger to big dicks or mind-blowing sex—college had definitely been a time for fun, promiscuity, and exploration—but I had never felt someone consume my entire body just by thrusting into me.
“Fuck,” Brayden moaned in my ear. “You’re so damn tight.”
His hips slowly rocked as he sweetly made love to me. He kissed me, looked directly in my eyes, read my body as we rode out our climaxes together. It was the most intense escapade of my life because it wasn’t about fucking, wasn’t about getting off—it was about connecting. Right then, with Brayden softly holding me as we lay in bed, I fell in love, completely and deeply, and I knew I was going to be Brayden Cox’s for the rest of my life.
“Please, stop,” I screamed as Hanif dragged me by the back of my neck into the bathroom. “I promise I will be good.”
My foster father was a mean drunk who had a short fuse and a quick hand. “Shut up!” he roared as he slammed my head down onto the counter.
“What did I do?” I cried as the taste of blood flooded my mouth.
“Don’t ask stupid questions.” His boot connected with my shin, making me fall to my knees in pain.
Jeremiah threw the door open, trying to wrestle Hanif off me. “Jer! Don’t! He’ll just hurt you too.” I tried to pull Jeremiah off his father. He was the only kid in the house related to Hanif and his meaner-than-sin wife, and Jeremiah was also the only one that had the balls to stand up to them.
“Run!” Jeremiah screamed at me over his shoulder as he held on to Hanif’s shirt.
I bolted into the living room, running into the room I shared with three other girls. “Hide!” I whispered before diving into the closet.
Hanif’s stomping footsteps got louder and louder until they were right outside the mirrored sliding doors that were concealing me.
“Think you can hide from me, you good for nothing waste of life!”
“Karla!” Brayden’s voice broke through my nightmare, waking me up as I gasped for air, the comforter clutched tightly in my hands.
I blinked rapidly, trying to regain my composure. “What?” I asked groggily.
“I think you were having a bad dream.” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. “Are you all right?”
I nestled down into his embrace, feeling more safe than I ever had in my entire life. “Now I am.”
He kissed the top of my head and fought a yawn. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I let my head fall onto his shoulder. “We can save that for another time. Right now, I just want to sleep safely in your arms.”
“That’s fine, baby,” he muttered right before low snores and deep breaths took over.
I woke up to an empty bed. In my groggy state, it took me a few minutes to figure out where I was even. Rolling over, a piece of paper stuck to my cheek. I flipped it over to read the handwritten note while rubbing my tired eyes.
Good morning, gorgeous.
Making breakfast down stairs. There’s a robe in my bathroom for you to use if you’d like it.
-Brayden
I jumped out of the warn bed, grabbing the robe from the bathroom. I was thankful to find that it was way too big to be a woman’s bathrobe.
Finding Brayden in the kitchen, shirtless in jeans, cooking for me, was one of the sexiest things I have ever seen. The delectable aroma of bacon and eggs consumed the small space.
“Good morning.” I breathed as I kissed his shoulder blade, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“Morning, babe.” He turned around, quickly kissing my cheek.
“Gross!” I heard come from behind me with a quick giggle.
Brayden threw a dish towel at his sister as she p
oured herself a cup of coffee. “Sis, mind your own business.”
“Coffee?” Myla asked me as she grabbed another cup out of the cabinet.
“Sure, thanks.”
She pointed to the table, setting the mugs of steaming joe down on placemats. “Don’t worry, Brayden will take care of the rest.” She winked at me. “Have you read any of the firefighter romances by Amy Briggs yet?”
I shook my head. “No. Should I?”
She squealed. “Like right now! Hold on, I have a copy of the complete series upstairs. You can totally borrow it if you want.”
“I would love that.” It was so nice to be sitting down with Myla. It had been so long since I had another girl to talk to other than Martha and Kari. They were amazing in their own right, but they were as far from book worms as it came.
She leapt up from the table while Brayden was putting our breakfasts onto plates. Sitting down next to me, he grabbed my hand. “Hope you like eggs. I probably should have asked.”
“This is perfect.” I leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”
“Did you sleep all right? You seemed to have a crazy ass dream in the middle of the night.” He remarked, before shoveling a huge bite of eggs covered in hot sauce into his mouth.
I bit my lip, it had been a long time since I had a nightmare about my foster family like that. “Just a bad dream about my shitty childhood.”
Brayden shifted a little so that he was looking right at me. “If you ever want to talk about it, I am here. But, I will never pry.”
“I appreciate that a lot.”
“Tomorrow night?” Brayden asked abruptly.
I glanced over at him, eyebrow raised. “What?” I was still so deep in my thoughts about my terrible foster father.
He shot me a cute half smirk. “We’re going out to dinner with your friends tomorrow night.”
I wanted to smack my palm right onto my face. “Oh, yes! We’re still on for tomorrow night. I cannot wait for you to meet Martha and Kari.”
“What if they don’t like me?” He asked, as serious as all hell.
I put my hand on his shoulder. “They’re going to love you. Promise.”
Chapter 13
Brayden
“Ready?” Karla grabbed my hand, squeezing it gently.
I kissed the top of her head before opening the restaurant door for her. “Heck yes. Let’s do this.”
I had pulled out all the stops for tonight. I knew that Kari and Martha were overly important in Karla’s life and if I was going to stay in it for the long haul like I was planning, I needed to get their approval. Since Karla didn’t have any family, this was like meeting mom and dad, but it was even more nerve wracking for some reason.
We were escorted to our table booth in the back of the restaurant, where three bouquets of roses were sitting, two white and one red, and they all had hand written notes in them.
Martha and Kari were already in their seats, reading their notes. It was just a simple gesture from me to them to show them how much I actually cared about them, because of how much they meant to my girl.
“Evening, ladies.” I said after clearing my throat.
They both looked up at us with tears in their eyes, smiling.
The one on the end of the booth scooted out, wrapping me in a huge hug. “I feel like I already know you. I’m a hugger. Sorry,” she sniffled.
“Brayden, That’s Kari. And this is Martha.” Karla pulled Kari off of me, giving her a quick hug and then pointing to Martha on the inside of the booth.
“It’s a pleasure.” Martha muttered while wiping her eyes with the linen napkin.
Karla looked at her friends with a questioning stare. “What has gotten into you two?” She slid into the inside as I followed her, taking our seats.
Kari beamed over at me. “Brayden is pretty sweet.” She pushed the dozen red roses over to Karla.
She grabbed the note that simply stated: I will love you until my dying day. I watched as her eyes scanned the words over and over, tears welling up.
Grabbing my hand, Karla looked over at me. “I love you too.”
Martha and Kari both sniffled. Martha leaned over to get closer to Karla. “I think you found one of the good ones.”
Kari nodded in agreement then looked to me. “So, Brayden, when you’re not making women cry all of the happy tears, what do you do for fun? Let’s get this conversation going.”
“Wait,” Karla threw her hands in the air before I could answer. “What did your notes say?”
Martha handed hers to Karla. “It just said that he loves you and was going to tell you tonight.”
“Babe.” Karla cooed. “I just really can’t believe that you did all of this for us.”
I couldn’t help but just smile and shrug. “Kari and Martha are your family. I have to respect that and show them how serious I am about us.”
Karla
Our night out with my girls was going amazingly well. After Brayden surprised us with the flowers, I couldn’t help but think that he had something else up his sleeve.
“Excuse me ladies, I am going to run to the rest room.” Brayden left the table and my heart started pounding.
“Do you think he is going to try something tonight?” I asked in a mild panic.
Kari and Martha looked to each other and then to me, confused. Martha finally asked, “Like what?”
I started fidgeting with the flowers in front of me. “Like propose or something.”
Kari started laughing her head off. “You’ve only been dating for a little while. He’s not that dumb. Besides, doesn’t he know how you feel about marriage?”
Brayden’s voice boomed into the conversation. “Crap, y’all figured it out.” He took his seat with a goofy grin on his face, grabbing my hand. “Babe, I do not have anything up my sleeve. Check my pockets, you will not find a ring.”
I felt like the biggest idiot on the planet. Then Martha went and opened her big mouth and I just wanted to crawl under the table and die. “Karla doesn’t believe in marriage. Thinks it destroys the intimacy or some shit like that.”
Brayden laughed again. “Thank fucking God!”
I glanced at him, scared to make eye contact. “Really?”
“Yes. The pressure is off.” Brayden grabbed my hand. “I just wanted this night to be special and now I know even more that you’re the girl for me.”
Kari swooned from across the table and Martha looked like she was about to puke from all of the feels.
Martha cleared her throat. “So, not to make light of how adorable you two are, but Brayden do you have any single, hot, teammates that you’d want to set two attractive business women up with?”
I threw my napkin at Martha while Brayden rubbed the back of his neck and answered, “I will keep it in mind. Most of my teammates are married or dicks, but I’ll keep an eye out.”
Chapter 14
Brayden
Months Later
After practice, Crosby and I decided to go have a couple beers at a hole-in-the-wall dive bar just down the street from the rink.
“You ready for Myla’s party tomorrow night?” he asked as the bartender put our beers down in front of us.
“As ready as I will ever be.” It was so crazy that my little sister was about to turn twenty-one. Where has the time gone?
“Well, I know a bunch of the guys are looking forward to it.”
“Thanks man. I know it is going to mean a lot to her to have the team there.”
Crosby shrugged. “She’s the sister to one of us and the girlfriend to another—she’s like our real MVP.”
We both laughed a little. “You’re right I guess. How’s your old lady?”
Crosby groaned. “A pain in my ass. She’s so pregnant, she can’t even put on her shoes by herself anymore. Don’t get married and don’t have kids. That’s all I can say. Learn from my mistakes.”
“I got off lucky. Karla doesn’t believe in marriage, thinks it takes
away from the romance of it all, and the pill is a glorious invention.”
“I can drink to that.” We clanked our brown bottles together right as my phone started lighting up with a call from Karla.
“Yeah, babe?” I answered.
“I know you’re having drinks and relaxing, but I really need you to come to my place.”
The nervousness in her tone was freaking me out. I started to get up from my stool. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I am fine. We just need to talk about something really important.”
“I will head over right now.”
I waved over to the bartender, pulling my card out of my wallet. Crosby put his hand on my shoulder. “Go man, I got this.”
“Thanks.”
I was out the door and hailing a cab within seconds.
Karla
I sat on the edge of my bathtub staring at the digital pregnancy stick. “How can I be pregnant?” I said under my breath to no one.
“Karla?” Brayden’s husky voice boomed through the apartment.
“In here,” I called to him, hiding the white pee stick in my hands as best as I could.
He opened the door, peeking his head in. “Can I come in?”
“Please.” I was fighting back tears, and I wasn’t sure if they were happy or sad yet—a lot of that depended on how Brayden took the news.
I took a deep breath and he sat down on the bathmat in front of me. “What’s going on babe? You had me worried sick.”
“Here.” I shoved the positive test into his hands, tears now rolling down my face.
He stared at it for what felt like a lifetime. Then all of a sudden he leapt to his feet, pulling me up into his arms. “This is the best news I could have ever gotten. You’re pregnant!” The elation in his voice jumped through the air, crashing into me as happy tears started to make me sob even more.
The Shots On Goal Series Box Set Page 18