“He is a winner. And you are expendable.” He let go of the door, letting it close all too slowly.
There wasn’t anything left to say. Gloria’s horrified face said it all.
21
Wes
The waiter brought the menus, and I ordered a glass of wine for Lennon. I didn’t drink the night before a game. I passed on the beer list. She had spoken less than ten words since we left the hotel.
I leaned across the table. “Did I tell you how fucking sexy you look in that new dress, Doc?”
She nodded. “A few times.”
Something was off. But I didn’t know what. I was in new territory. Truth was, I’d never cared if a woman was upset or preoccupied. The few hours I spent with them weren’t enough to get that involved. But Lennon and I were more than that, and I felt the tightening in my chest every time I looked at her face and saw the worry in her eyes. What the fuck was wrong?
I was craving a glass of bourbon. Something to dull the tension I could feel between us.
“You had fun shopping?” I asked.
“Yes. I went to a few of my old favorite shops.”
“And you got what you wanted?” Women loved to shop. I thought free reign with my credit card would have made her happy. She could have bought out three stores if she wanted and I wouldn’t have cared.
“Just the one dress.” She tipped the wine glass to her lips.
“There’s no limit on that card.”
She eyed me. “I don’t need your money to buy clothes, Wes. I’m a surgeon. I make a pretty good salary. Maybe not millions, but I can afford a slutty dress.”
I don’t know what had happened, but something had changed since I left her in the suite this morning.
“Slutty dress was a joke. You look beautiful.”
She lowered her eyes. Her fingers worked the corners of the linen napkin. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to think I need your money or I’m here for the money.”
“When did I ever say that?”
“You didn’t, but it’s important to me you know that.” She looked at me, but I saw her eyes trail over my shoulder and widen.
“I don’t care how much money you have, Doc. I want to give you things. Buy you things. Take care of you.” I leaned closer to whisper, but she clearly wasn’t listening. “You are mine, you know.”
“Shit.” She grabbed the menu from the table and held it in front of her face. “Shit, shit, shit,” she grumbled. “This can’t be happening.”
“Okay, what in the hell is going on?” I turned and looked behind me to see a couple walking through the restaurant, following the hostess to a table next to ours.
I tried to wrestle the menu from her hand, but her grip was strong. “Damn it, Lennon. What the fuck is happening?”
“Lennon?” The couple stopped next to our table as the guy, who was holding the woman’s hand, startled us.
She lowered the menu slowly. “Ben? What a surprise.”
“Yeah, I’d say so.” The guy looked at me and then his date. “I guess the tabloids are true. You’re actually dating this guy.”
Lennon’s eyes narrowed. “Better than the one standing in front of me.”
“That’s not what you said when we were together.” His expression was cocky.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I stood from the table, feeling an instant surge of jealousy and animalistic need to protect Lennon. “Who the fuck are you?” I poked him in the chest.
“Wes, sit down. Don’t make a scene. People have their phones out.” Lennon pulled on my arm.
“No, I want to know who this jackass is.”
His date had shrunk behind him and pulled out her phone.
“This is my ex, Ben. Dr. Ben Lennox.”
“Your ex?” I glared at her.
I don’t know why I was furious, but I was. My blood was on fire. I wanted to punch the guy, pummel him into the ground, beat the shit out of him. And the only reason was because he used to be with Lennon. My Lennon.
“Yeah, she didn’t mention she dated a neurosurgeon before the Neanderthal?”
That was it. My fist reared back and struck him straight in the jaw.
“Oh my God, Wes!” Lennon’s expression turned from shock to outrage. “What are you thinking?”
I looked down at the man lying on the floor. His date hovered over him as he sat up, rubbing the swollen spot on his chin.
“I wasn’t.” The rage was still spilling through me.
She grabbed my hand. “We have to get out of here. Come on.” She pulled me out of the restaurant and hailed a taxi. We were back at the hotel within minutes.
Once we were inside the suite, she spun to face me. “Let me see your hand.”
“My hand? It’s fine.”
“Let me see,” she ordered.
I extended my left arm. “I didn’t punch him with my right. I know better than that.”
She smiled. “And he thought you were a Neanderthal.” She rubbed her fingers over my knuckles tenderly. “Let me get some ice from the bar. Hold on.”
I sat on the edge of the bed while she tended to my bruised knuckles. Really, it didn’t feel like much. I thought that was one of the side effects of the HGH. I felt almost indestructible. My entire body felt younger and stronger.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had an ex in D.C.?”
“You didn’t ask.” She removed the makeshift icepack from my hand. “But I thought about it.” When she looked at me, I saw the mist covering her eyes and the heaviness of tears brimming on her bottom lids. “Your dad was right.”
“My dad? What does he have to do with any of this?”
One tear slipped and it ripped at my chest. Why was she crying?
“I ran into your parents in the lobby today on the way back from shopping. He and I had a conversation. Not a good one.”
I growled. The man never could keep his opinions to himself. “What did he say to you?”
“He said I was a distraction. He said I’d ruin your game. He called me flavor of the week.” And with that, the rest of the tears fell down her soft cheeks. She crumpled against my chest and I wrapped my arms around her.
“Am I expendable to you?”
“What? No. No.”
The rage that had built from jealousy and my dad’s bullish words softened as she sobbed against my chest. I smoothed her hair and whispered in her ear. “My dad is an asshole. You know that.”
“But he’s right.” She gulped for air. “I should have told you about Ben before. Look what happened in the restaurant.” Her mascara was smudged and there were spots on my dress shirt, but I didn’t give a shit. “I wanted to tell you about him. I need to, but I was trying to wait for when the timing was better. Like maybe after the Super Bowl?”
I played with her hair, feeling the silkiness between my fingers. “You might as well tell me now.”
“Now?”
“Yeah. Let’s talk about the bastard.”
“We were in the same residency program. That’s how we met,” she explained. “And eventually we moved in together, but kind of like a roommate thing. And then roommates led to us being together. At least, I thought we were together until I came home and he was screwing someone else.”
“Shit,” I whispered.
“Yeah, shit.” She leaned her head on my shoulder. “It’s the reason I took the job at San Antonio Mission. I wanted to get out of D.C. Away from him. Away from the humiliation. I wanted to start over where there were no lies.”
I felt the knife twist in my gut. Things were coming together. Why she was so adamant about the honesty between us. Why she was willing to give herself to me in the beginning so freely, but needed to know I could be monogamous. Hell, I’d never been monogamous and agreed to it without thinking it through. But holding her like this, knowing what she had been through, I didn’t want another woman. I wanted this one.
But there was a lie between us. My hand. The one thing that had brought us together was the lie I cou
ldn’t tell her.
“What if Ben presses charges? What if those pictures go viral? It’s my fault. You could be fined or suspended.” The sobbing started all over again.
She had a point, but I wasn’t thinking about those things when Ben approached our table. All I could think about was protecting Lennon. I’d protect her from anyone and anything. I’d use my money, influence, power, and body to keep her from getting hurt.
“Give me Ben’s number.”
She sniffed. “What?”
“Give me his number. I’m going to call him and get this taken care of.”
She walked over to her clutch and pulled out her phone. “Here.”
I hit send and waited for the fucker to pick up.
He answered quickly. “You can’t seriously date that monster, Lennon.”
“This is the monster,” I responded.
“You could have broken my jaw, asshole.”
“Yeah, and a lot more.” I had to tone it down. This wasn’t the way out of a scandal. “Look, I’m calling to apologize. And to see how I can assist with your recovery.”
“You mean pay me off?” Ben jeered.
“If that helps your jaw.”
My pockets were deep. Neither Lennon nor I wanted this story getting out. I’d pay whatever the bastard wanted.
“Maybe we should meet again,” he suggested.
“Be in my hotel lobby in fifteen minutes. I’ll text you the address.” I hung up and handed the phone back to Lennon.
“You’re going to see him again? Oh God, don’t break anything. He’s not worth it.”
I kissed her on the forehead. “I’m not going to punch him. But he deserves it for what he said. And for what he did to you.” I stroked the side of her cheek. “I’m not glad he cheated on you. He’s a fucking idiot. But I’m glad you walked away. Because now you’re mine. All mine.” I kissed her fiercely, loving the sounds that she made when my tongue slid against hers.
“Should I go with you?” she offered.
I shook my head. “No. I’ll handle it. Why don’t you break in that huge Jacuzzi tub? After today, you need to relax.”
“It was the worst day.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “I wanted to be here for you. To support you. But I’ve screwed it up. You’ve got the play off game tomorrow, Wes. And now you’re paying off my ex and worried about your dad and me and all of this stupid drama…”
I kneeled in front of her. “No offense, baby, but I’ve been training for this my whole life. One shitty night isn’t going to knock me off my game.” I tilted her chin toward me. “You didn’t screw up anything. I’ve got this handled.”
“Really?”
“Really.” I kissed her full lips, wishing I didn’t have to go downstairs right now. “I’ll be back soon.”
I stood, letting her fingers fall from mine. God, this woman had me. She had taken me when I wasn’t looking. Possessed me when I wasn’t watching. And it was fucking unbelievable.
22
Lennon
I stretched my arms across the empty king-sized bed and smiled. Yesterday had gone from hell to heaven. I sat up, bringing the sheet with me. It was play off day. Wes had left at the crack of dawn, but there was a tray of breakfast next to the bed and a silver service of steaming coffee.
I tiptoed out of bed and walked to the bathroom. My body was sore in the most glorious ways. The way he touched me, sucked me, and kissed me was seared into my skin. I could almost still feel his breath on my body.
I brushed my teeth, pulled on a fluffy hotel robe, and walked back to the bed to pour coffee into a china mug.
Things were only going to get more complicated from here. If Wes won today, there was another playoff game next week. That meant more awkward run-ins with Gloria and Bud. Wes knew about Ben now, and he had to catch on to my insecurities about other women. We hadn’t even touched how deeply that ran.
I hadn’t decided if the D.C. trip was a complete disaster or a total success. He had proven last night that he was here for me too. He was willing to defend me. To make sacrifices. To protect me at all costs. And damn, it felt good. Not to mention how he worshipped me in bed when he got back from paying off Ben.
He was tender and sweet. It was an entirely different type of sexiness. It made me feel like we were both on the verge of saying the L word. But instead, I moaned and shook in his arms and let him come deep inside me as he told me over and over that I was his. That I belonged only to him. I smiled. I liked the emotionally intense sex as much as the primal raw stuff we did back in San Antonio.
I nibbled on the end of a croissant and popped a strawberry in my mouth. I didn’t know how all of this had happened. How I had ended up as Wes’s girlfriend. Eating room service breakfast before his big game. But it had. And I was completely, blissfully happy about it.
“Oh no, oh no.” Gloria clutched my hand as Wes was tackled. We were perched high in the Sharks’ stadium. My heart sank as I saw him lying on the ground.
It was the third quarter and we were down by a touchdown.
“Please let him be okay.” She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Get up, son,” Bud muttered behind us.
I’d never felt my heart beat this loudly or violently. One of the linemen reached down and pulled Wes up to standing. I finally let myself breathe again.
“Oh, he’s okay. He’s okay.” Gloria still hadn’t let go of the death grip she had on my hand.
I nodded at her, not feeling completely reassured. “It looks like he’s fine.”
From up here, there was no way to get to him if he needed me. As soon as he hit the ground, my mind listed off twenty possible medical outcomes for a hit like that. The first one was a concussion. But I looked on the jumbo screen and he was smiling, and no one from the training staff seemed to be running to examine him.
They snapped the ball, and Wes took a few steps back before slinging the ball into the end zone. Touchdown Wranglers! I jumped to my feet, clapping and screaming. God, how did he do that? He took a hit that would have knocked most men out for the rest of the game, and instead of sitting on the bench, he brought the team back into contention. The game was tied.
The last quarter was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life. The Sharks scored again. We kicked a field goal, and then managed to snag an interception. There were three minutes left on the clock and the ball was in Wes’s hands. It was up to him to score, or the Super Bowl dreams were over for this season.
I was clinging to Gloria as desperately as she was clinging to me. I could barely watch as the ball was snapped and Wes scanned the field.
The stadium was deafening, with Sharks fans screaming for their defense. I didn’t know how the team could hear the calls Wes screamed on the field, but they seemed to know what to do.
Sam Hickson ran into the corner of the end zone and Wes shuttled the ball into his hands. That was it. Game over. The Wranglers were only one game away from the Super Bowl.
Gloria squeezed me. “Oh, honey, that was a close one.”
“It was.” I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know football could get my adrenaline going like that. I didn’t know I felt like I had so much at stake in the game. But I was starting to understand. I was starting to discover the pull to the game. The need to be a part of something thrilling and unpredictable. I smiled to myself—it was everything like being with Wes.
“No use hanging around here.” Bud dropped his beer on the counter. “Sharks don’t want us waiting around. Better head back to the hotel.”
“I’ll see you two there.” I wanted to revel in this for a minute. I wanted to watch the on-field interviews and see the look on Wes’s face when the reporters asked him how winning felt.
“I’m so glad I have a game girl.” Gloria grinned. “Next one should be back in San Antonio.”
That was a relief. Traveling like this was stressful. I had to be back at the hospital early in the morning, which meant a late flight tonight. Keeping up with both of
our careers wasn’t easy.
“Bye.” I waved at Wes’s parents and sat in the cushy leather chair. I wanted to soak it in. Feel what he felt. See what he saw. I sat, not caring how much time passed before I was ready to leave. Somehow being here felt every bit as important as watching him play.
The Wranglers’ plane had landed hours before mine. Wes was already in the apartment when I walked through the door. There was a bottle of champagne on the counter, two glasses, and a trail of candles leading to the bedroom.
“Wes?” I called in the apartment. The lights were dim and I had a funny flutter in my stomach.
“Bring those glasses in here, will you?”
I smiled and picked up the chilled flutes. He was lying on the bed, his head propped on his elbow.
“Congratulations.” I handed him one of the glasses. “That was a huge game.”
“Thanks, Doc.” He sat up to kiss me. “Thought we could celebrate.”
“I can’t drink much. I’ve got three surgeries tomorrow.” I took a sip. The bubbles slid down my throat.
“That’s not much fun.” He moved the hair off my shoulder and kissed behind my ear. “But we’ve got other ways of celebrating, don’t we?”
I nodded. I didn’t need champagne to get drunk. Just being near him made me lose my mind. He pulled the glass from my hand and put it next to the bed.
“Wes, about last night?”
“What about it?” He pulled the shirt over his head and I almost licked my lips. His chest was flawless. I loved every muscle on his body.
He began unbuttoning my shirt and shoved the sleeves off my shoulders. He kissed one, then the other. With a quick flick, he had my bra unclasped and on the floor.
“God, I love your tits.”
I groaned as he pulled me into his mouth. The thoughts flew out of my head as my chest arched forward to give him more. I couldn’t wait to have him inside me. I couldn’t wait to feel his powerful thrusts.
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