Breakaway

by Vera Roberts

  “Yeah, but you know what?”

  “Hmm?”

  He removed his shirt and exposed his ripped physique. “I have a beautiful and incredibly sexy girlfriend standing just a little too far from me, when she should be over here, taking full advantage of me being uninjured and maybe just slightly unhinged.” Dean lay back on the bed and beckoned Sydney to come to him.

  Sydney removed her shirt and climbed on top of Dean. “I guess I have to correct, huh?”

  “I guess so.”

  Twelve

  L.A. was a different world from San Francisco.

  There were many similarities between the cities. The beautiful architecture. The sunny skies. Some of the best restaurants known to man. The friendly smiles of strangers. The carefree attitudes. Those were the good things.

  The bad, Sydney discovered, was a laundry list: the unbelievably cattiness of some women, who gave Sydney a dirty look when all she did was smile at them; the insane traffic jams that meant a 10-mile distance was a 45-minute drive; the uneasiness of hearing a helicopter circling every so often and the non-stop sounds of sirens.

  Sydney discovered, however, it didn’t matter if they were in her too-cramped apartment back in San Francisco or at Dean’s home in Manhattan Beach. Wherever he was, was where she wanted to be.

  Blech.

  She’d been in L.A. for only a few hours and there went her brain, secretly planning a trip to go registry shopping and wondering what china patterns would go nice in Dean’s home. She already envisioned couples’ dinners with his fellow teammates and their wives or girlfriends. Soon after that, there would be play dates with a mini-Sydney or a mini-Dean and Sydney hoped a mini-Dean had his father’s beautiful eyes.

  There I go again…

  She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She was about a sentence away from breaking up with dude just a few hours ago and now she’s silently reciting how Sydney Winchester sounded. She was no longer a grown woman in control of her emotions and her life; she was a lovesick adolescent teen who still had posters of her favorite boy bands covering the walls and giggled whenever she heard the word penis.

  She barely knew Dean and vice-versa. Maybe that’s what made the electricity between them so hot. They got to know each other as they went along and it was never a rush to find out. They were in discovery mode. They were content in pure silence or having a marathon discussion talking about everything under the sun and against the moon.

  When they made love, it felt like when they were back in Chicago, except it was ten times hotter. They were unbridled with their souls to bear and eyes wide open to each other. They christened every room in his home, with promises to do other positions in different rooms eventually.

  Eventually.

  She didn’t want to get her hopes up with the elephant in the room regarding their future. Dean all but said he wanted her there with him full-time and all of the time. Sydney, however, wished she could be so certain.

  She knew what her problem was – she’d always traveled the safe road. Why take turns when it was smooth sailing straight ahead? What really sucked was that she did that in every aspect of her life. She’d listened and been the unwilling go-to shoulder for her friends to cry on and that soured her on dating. She took a retail job because she was good at it, but it wasn’t her passion. Even her wardrobe consisted of dark and solid colors; no patterns or anything of the sort.

  She was a plain Jane.

  She was boring.

  And she was currently dating one of the league’s most valuable players.

  Such her luck.

  She wandered throughout the home while Dean was soundly asleep, trying to figure out her life. As her bare feet sank into the plush navy blue carpet, she wondered why she liked to deliberately sabotage her life. She knew the issue wasn’t Dean and it wasn’t the distance. Again, it was an available excuse for her not willing to take a chance on something new and someone different.

  So many women would jump at the chance at dating Dean and Sydney had done more than enough private Google research on her own regarding his lothario reputation. Even Sydney was surprised she didn’t care so much about that now that he was with her.

  Her feet found their way to the man cave and available pool table at her disposal. As she racked up the balls and powdered her stick, Sydney truly wondered one thing about herself:

  Why did she try so hard to sabotage her life?

  ****

  Dean rolled over to snuggle with Sydney and instead, found a cold, empty space where her warm body used to occupy. He suddenly woke up and looked around his bedroom. He walked throughout the home, calling for her, and wondered where could she have possibly escaped.

  The familiar sound of billiard balls clacking against each other told her where she was. He went downstairs and found his girlfriend, bent over in the tiniest pair of boy shorts and a too-small cami tank, looking studious as she tried to angle herself just right for her next shot.

  “Don’t ruin my shot. Don’t ruin my shot. Don’t ruin my shot.” She warned to him.

  “Damn, you look so fucking sexy right now…” he taunted.

  “Damnit, Dean! Do not ruin my shot.” Sydney smiled. “Do not ruin my shot.”

  “I would totally love to step behind and fuck you until…”

  Sydney lost her footing and her concentrated effort went to hell as the cue ball only moved a few inches. “Damnit!” She stood up and pursed her lips, narrowed her eyes, and shook her fist at her boyfriend. “You…are…awful.”

  Dean walked behind Sydney and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. “Mmm…you like me being awful.” He breathed against her neck.

  Little zaps of pleasure crawled all over Sydney’s body and she instantly felt the need to feel Dean on top of her again. “Don’t you get tired?”

  “Of you?” He kissed the nape of her neck. “Never.”

  It was like finding out her favorite crush liked her back and wanted to ask her to the winter formal. Sydney felt giddy like a 14-year-old girl at a boy band concert and the lead singer just singled her out. “You’re terrible for me.”

  “I think that’s a lie.” He continued to plant small kisses on her neck. “I think I’m pretty damn good for you. I also think you’re pretty damn good for me. But you know what I also think?”

  “Hmm?”

  “I also think you want to talk to me about something that’s bothering you,” he turned her around and stared into her eyes, “so what’s up, buttercup?”

  Sydney put down the pool stick and Dean sat on top of the pool table. She followed his lead. “I’ve always played the safe route. When others turned left, I turned right. If people went one way, I made sure I went the other. If I saw friends experiment and did things I didn’t like or wouldn’t do, I made extra sure I would never get in that position.”

  “So being here with me scares you?” He asked.

  “My past boyfriends never encouraged me to do anything but be me. They took me as is. Looking back, I can honestly say those were probably some of the most boring relationships I have ever had.” She let out the breath she had been holding. “But with you, I’m questioning everything. Do I want to stay in San Francisco? Do I want to stay at Macy’s? What in the hell do I want to do? Like, I’m not even worried about whether we’ll be together because I’m certain now I want to be with you.”

  “There’s a saying that I love and I’m going to tell it to you,” Dean leaned in, “if it scares you, you should do it.”

  Sydney smiled and shook her head. “You always know what to say and when to say it.”

  “I have years of being stupid behind me,” Dean admitted, “maybe too many. But I know what I want out of this life and we only get one. Do I want to look back on everything and go, ‘Man, I so wish I did X…’? Or do I want to look back on my life and go, ‘I kicked so much ass, it’s pretty unbelievable I didn’t get arrested for what I did.’ It’s all about what you want.”

  “I’
m perfectly flawed. I’m great at some things and I’m horrible at others.” Dean shrugged. “I’m okay with that. Who wants to be great at everything all the time? That’s boring.”

  “True.” She agreed.

  “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,” Dean looked behind him at the pool table, “let’s play.”

  “Sure thing.” Sydney began to hop off the pool table when Dean stopped her and pulled her on top of him.

  “No, I want to play with you.” He swept his lips across hers before she opened her mouth and let him in. He tasted her hunger and need, while letting her explore his. His mouth moved to her neck, where he nibbled and kissed it, yearning for more.

  He rolled her over to her back and they both shed their clothing in rapid time. He grabbed a nearby condom and sheathed on him before he entered her. Their bodies moved synchronized perfectly as Dean drove inside her. They found the perfect rhythm and moved together, lost in each other. Push and pull. In and out. Once again, they climbed higher and higher until a climax ricocheted within Sydney’s being and she felt lost, floating in air.

  “Dean…baby…” she softly moaned as the orgasm shot through her.

  Dean heard her cries and thrust a few more times before he came, a throaty groan escaping his lips. He eased himself off his girlfriend and kissed her sweaty forehead as she snuggled into his arms.

  He knew then, it wasn’t just him being in like with Sydney; he loved her. He was determined to make their relationship work, one way or another.

  Other titles by Vera Roberts:

  Anticipation

  Daddy’s Angel

  Wait for Love

  The D’Amato Brothers Series:

  The Nanny

  To Love and Obey

  Where I Wanna Be

  All I’ve Ever Wanted

  The Scott & Mariana Serial:

  S&M

  S&M II

  Discipline

  S&M III, Vol. I

  S&M III, Vol. II

  Short stories:

  Blow by Blow: Diary of a Call Girl #1

  Dear Diary

  Gettin' It

  Hot Like Fire (Sweet and Clean Romance)

  I Need You

  The Train Ride (Free on Smashwords.com)

  The Erotic Intoxication, Vol. I: Bad Girls

  The Painter

  Til Tomorrow

  Facebook Page:

  www.facebook.com/ms.vera.roberts

  Blog:

  www.veraroberts.com

  eroticamistress.tumblr.com

  Sneak Peek of Breakaway II:

  When Dean told her to bring a blanket, Sydney questioned why. They were inside the Staples Center and she wore jeans and a mock turtleneck. Now she understood.

  She was freezing her balls off.

  Comforted in Dean’s leather jacket and a warm blanket covering her legs, Sydney sipped the coke in her napkin-laced hand as she tried to comprehend hockey. It wasn’t like basketball, where the players played certain positions and she had an idea who was the forward, center, and guard. It wasn’t like football where she could tell the difference between the running back and defensive tackle.

  In hockey, she saw a whole bunch of dudes with aggression and hockey sticks. Come to think of it, there probably needs to be something of the sort in real life for women. There wouldn’t be so much hate and competition if that were to happen.

  “So you’re Dean’s new chick?” Rebecca McDonald commented to Sydney. She was a tall, woman with dirty blonde hair and sharp eyes. Sydney was already uncomfortable with her. From the moment she sat down, she felt the older woman’s not-so subtle side eyes on her.

  Sydney already knew just by the first question alone, it was going to be a long-ass game. “Yes. I’m his girlfriend,” she emphasized.

  “I see.” Rebecca nodded as if she understood. “I hope you stay around for a while. Dating a hockey player is tough. You have to deal with them constantly traveling, being injured and tired. Not to mention the groupies.”

  Sydney sipped harder on her coke. She wasn’t a big fan of overly sugary beverages and preferred to drink water as much as possible but the coke was helping her some. It was making her not want to throw it in Rebecca’s face. “Yeah,” was all she could mutter.

  Rebecca looked at Sydney. She was pretty enough. She had the shoulder-length hair; full lips that she assumed brought Dean a whole lot of pleasure, and probably a killer bod underneath all of that clothing and blankets. Sydney also looked…what was the word she was looking for…ah, yes…Sydney looked innocent. She wasn’t hardened by Los Angeles, nor was she used to the lifestyle that dating an athlete brought with them.

  If Rebecca had to guess, Sydney looked like a fish out of water. She wondered exactly what was going to be the final straw that would break her back. “How long have you and Dean been together?”

  “Oh, enough with the goddamn interrogation, Rebecca. Shit.” Naomi shook her head and leaned forward to focus on the game. She was married to one of the league’s most valuable players and was considered to be the leader of the wives and girlfriends aka WAGs group. She was a dark-skinned woman with long, black hair and was nicknamed “Slayomi” for always showing up in some designer garb whenever she went out. It was no surprise her other gig besides being wife, was a fashion correspondent.

  “What?” Rebecca asked innocently enough but not completely oblivious to how she acted. “I was just getting to know homegirl, that’s all.”

  Sydney had to bite the inside of her cheek. Homegirl? Was that bitch serious?

  “You were getting to know her but that’s not all,” Brooke responded. She was a petite woman with dark hair and an English accent. She was the girlfriend to Caleb. “Let us enjoy the game.”

  “Can’t two women have a simple chit-chat?” Rebecca defended and Naomi hardened her eyes at the woman. Rebecca shrugged and sipped on her water. “Okay. We’ll continue getting to know each other after the game.” She winked at Sydney.

  Getting to know each other? Sydney silently questioned. She assumed getting to know each other meant both people asking questions, not a one-sided firing squad. She assumed Rebecca also wanted to know her blood type. “Sure.”

  During the break, Rebecca left to use the restroom and for the first time since she’d arrived, Sydney felt warmth in the arena. “I’m so sorry about that,” Naomi moved over to Rebecca’s seat and sat next to Sydney. “I would’ve warned you about her but I didn’t think she was going to do that.”

  “Oh, it’s whatever.” Sydney finished her soda, which was a watered-down mess. “I’m used to it.”

  “You obviously haven’t met Rebecca,” Madison Greene commented. She was a blond woman and stacked like a library bookcase. She had a warm demeanor that was very different from what Sydney got from Rebecca. “She can be interesting and not for any good reasons.”

  “So what’s her deal?” Sydney didn’t want to know but the woman cared enough to give her the inquisition.

  “She used to screw Dean,” Brooke commented and Naomi socked her in the arm. “What? She was going to find out sooner or later!”

  Sydney felt a swell of emotions arise inside her and none of them were of the heartwarming variety. Dean had introduced her to several people since her arrival, yet conveniently left that part out his fuck buddy was still present at his games. “Oh.”

  “They haven’t been on for a long time,” another wife, Cassidy Michaels, commented. She had medium-brown skin, long brown hair, and silver eyes. She looked like she could be a singer. “So you have nothing to worry about.”

  “So the natural question is why is she still around?” Sydney asked. “If she’s an ex, why is she still attending the games?”

  “Dean gave her a season pass,” Brooke interjected and Naomi made another sharp pass at her, “you’re getting on me for telling her the truth? What?”

  “Don’t be getting into other couples’ business!” Naomi admonished. “We don’t know why she’s really here any
more than Dean does.”

  “Really?” Brooke incredulously asked. “I think it’s pretty obvious why Maple Syrup is still here.”

  “Maple Syrup?” Sydney asked.

  “She’s Canadian.” Cassidy commented.

  “Which is an insult, by the way!” Madison interjected. “You don’t see me calling you Fish N’ Chips.”

  “You should try it,” Brooke nodded, “I think you would like it, eh?”

  “So why is she here?” Sydney asked.

  “Because she wants to check out the competition,” Brooke spoke and Naomi socked the younger woman in her arm again. “Woman, you hit me one more time and I will drag you by your weave!”

  Sydney stifled a chuckle. Brooke’s threat sounded so funny with her accent, though she knew the woman was serious. “Competition? What competition?”

  “You!” Brooke commented while the other WAGs shook their heads. “In case no one else wants to tell you, I will. You’re the reason why Dean broke up with her. Maple Syrup doesn’t like you because you stole her man.”