“I knew it!”
“But most of all, I like that you follow your own path. You don’t back down. You can be plenty reckless.” He shook his head. “But I get it. What you do is in your blood. I’ll worry and hover, but I respect that you want to do it.”
“I love fighting with you too.” She caressed his face. “I look forward to bickering with you while we eat delicious country cooking.”
He kissed her. “Stop talking. More kissing.”
In the distance, they could hear the sirens. Riley broke the kiss.
“They got here quick.”
“It used the satellite phone to call in the panic code before he kicked in the door.” She smiled.
He stood and pulled her up, and she winced. “We need to get you to a hospital immediately.”
“No way, it’s nothing serious. I have to get you to the stadium.”
“You’re going to the hospital.”
An hour later there were police, firefighters, and paramedics swarming the place. Parker identified herself as a specialist for Regency, and everyone knew Riley on sight. It helped that the local LEO’s knew they were in the area hunkering down. Riley watched as the EMTs took a look at Parker’s arm.
All he could think was thank goodness she was alive. He’d almost lost her because of some lunatic who let hate fester in him until he thought there was no other choice but to end Riley’s life. He loved her and he was so happy to say the words aloud. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his heart. He’d never thought he could feel this way about another person, but it was easy with her. She demanded authenticity from him, not the Riley he showed to the world. She understood his insecurities and thought he was brave for admitting them.
As the paramedic continued to work on her shoulder, he leaned over and kissed her again. He loved the taste of her lips. Although the cabin was pretty secluded, word must have traveled fast because there were news vans pulling up and a helicopter with a TV station call sign was soaring above. A car blazing down the dirt road made everyone look up. Sam barely let Kendrick park before she bolted from the car and ran over to them. She embraced them both with a big bear hug.
“We got him.” Parker tried to give her a smile.
“Yes, you did.” Sam caressed her cheek. “Where is he?”
“Mixed in with the rubble,” Riley said. “But I will feel a thousand percent better if someone confirmed that once they dug through.”
“He took a shot from old Betsy.” Parker held up their father’s gun. “It’s doubtful he’s still breathing.”
Sam ran her hand over Parker’s messy mane. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“I told you it was a good idea to get him isolated. There was a better chance some innocent bystander wouldn’t get hurt. I can only imagine if that happened in the stadium.”
“That’s all well and good, but you can’t keep doing this to me. My heart can’t take it.” Sam took a look at her shoulder. “You have to go to the hospital.”
“I seem to recall you finding a bomb during a routine sweep and you ended up in the hospital.”
“So this insanity runs in the family?” Riley huffed. “She tried to defuse a bomb with two minutes on the timer instead of getting her ass out of Dodge.”
“We can just not tell J.J. or the family about that part,” Parker added quickly.
Sam scowled. “Parker—”
“Look, I saved dad’s gun, and Riley’s alive,” Parker interrupted. “Prince Charming is secure.”
Kendrick came up behind them. “But he’s going to be late for his date with destiny unless we get him out of here. The chopper will be here in five minutes.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Riley declared. “We’re going to the hospital to get you patched up.”
“You can’t go with me. You have to get to the stadium.”
“No. I don’t. You are the most important thing to me.” Riley leaned in and gave her another scorching-hot kiss. When they pulled apart Sam, Kendrick and Carmichael were gaping at them. A few bystanders whistled. He knew the cameras were probably zooming in on them but he didn’t care. He loved this woman and it was time the world knew it.
“Listen to me,” she said. “You have to go or you’ll miss the pregame warm-ups. They need to see their quarterback is safe and ready to get to work. This game is too important. The team is counting on you. I promised to get you to the biggest day of your life. And I still intend to deliver on that. I’ll get there as soon they patch up my arm.”
The strong winds of an approaching helicopter made every in the area look up. She loved that he wanted to stay, but he needed to get going.
“You better be there. You’re my good luck charm.” He smiled and touched her forehead with his then looked at Sam. “Can you please take care of her for me? She’s kind of growing on me.”
“Of course.” Sam grinned.
He kissed her again as the helicopter landed in the field. He nodded at Kendrick and began walking away with him.
“Riley!” Parker called out.
“Yeah!”
“Have a great game.” She waved.
“I love you too, Bruiser.” He smiled and dashed off to the helicopter.
CHAPTER TEN
There was a flurry of activity when the helicopter landed at the stadium. A black SUV was waiting for him, and Seth and Logan were standing beside it. They piled into the vehicle, which sped off toward the stadium.
“Are you OK?” Seth said.
Riley grinned. “Better than OK.”
“How’s Parker? Sam said she got shot.”
“She’s OK too. The bullet just nicked her, but Sam’s going to make sure she gets a thorough exam before they let her go.”
Seth let out a deep sigh. “That’s a relief.”
“Listen, nobody would blame you if you didn’t play today,” Logan said. “You’ve been through hell. Brian has been practicing all week just in case.”
“Are you kidding me? My woman took a bullet in the shoulder to make sure I could play today. Come hell or high water, I’m playing.”
Logan raised an eyebrow. “So, you and Parker got close?”
“We did.”
“Welcome to the family.” Seth shook his hand. “We’ll be having a long talk after the game. You know I’m gonna have to kill you if you hurt her? J.J. would probably think up some kind of torture. Not to mention a long line of family members who’ll be hunting you down.”
“I’ve just spent the last two weeks evading death threats. Can we table this until the Sunday family dinner?”
Seth grinned. “You’re right. It’s been a hectic few weeks, but you’ve got this. Suit up and we’ll be rooting for you.”
When Riley stepped into the locker room, he was met with applause from his teammates. They were all happy to see him and eager to know he was OK. He quickly took a shower and suited up, all the while thinking about Parker. It’s just a flesh wound, he kept repeating to himself in his head. He slammed the locker shut, perhaps a little too loudly. He turned around to see the entire team staring at him.
“We got this,” Wade said from behind him. “It doesn’t matter what happened today or yesterday or even three weeks ago. We know you’re ready for this. Hell, a bomb couldn’t stop you from showing up.”
Ross patted him on the back. “You want to say a few words before we go out there?”
“I’ve never been prouder to be a part of this team than I am right now. It’s not because we’ve been winning or having fun. But we beat the odds by doing the impossible. We rose out of the ashes and turned it around. And it’s because everyone in this room made the decision that we were going to be a winning team.”
“No man, it’s because we made the decision to trust our quarterback,” MG said.
* * *
After they patched Parker up at the hospital and gave her some pain meds, she and Sam headed to the stadium by helicopter courtesy of the Blakes. When they arrived, Tate, the celebrity si
nger they’d commissioned to sing the Star Spangled Banner had just belted out “home of the brave.”
She said a hurried hello to Riley’s family, who was sitting in the box with the Blakes. The Sloanes all took a collective sigh of relief when she assured them that Riley was no longer in danger, and he was excited about playing in the game. Riley’s sister lunged at her and hugged her as hard as she could without hurting Parker’s injury. Riley obviously got his good looks from his dad, who was an older version of his son. Dylan had his own look but was just as handsome. And the Blake kids were all dressed festively in their Tomcats gear.
Three hours later, it was the fourth quarter with two minutes left on the clock and the Tomcats were down by three. Riley had been playing a good game and it was getting down to the wire. The Tomcats had possession of the ball, and Riley threw it to Wade, who barreled forty yards down the field and into the end zone for a touchdown. The crowd went wild. They’d just gained a three point advantage. They got in position for the kick and it was good. Now the Tomcats were ahead by four. The other team came back hard, but couldn’t score. The Tomcats ran out the last thirty seconds and then the buzzer sounded. The Tomcats had defeated the other team with a score of thirty-five to thirty-one.
The box erupted in cheers. Parker laughed and cheered as Seth and Logan high-fived each other, and T.K. got misty-eyed. There were plenty of hugs to go around at the victory. She wished she could hug Riley right now. She was so proud of him. The camera panned to his face, and he seemed to be looking up at their private box. She got closer to the edge of the box and waved. He smiled and blew her a kiss. They had so much to talk about, but they could do that next week. Now was his time to bask in the glory of his accomplishment.
Sam came up and put her arm around her. “He did it. Your boyfriend won the game.”
“Pipe down, will you.” Parker gave her the eyes to keep it down. “Riley and I still have to have a talk about things.”
“What’s there to talk about? You two engaged in a full-blown lip-lock before he got on the helicopter and I distinctly heard him say he loved you. The last person who tried to give you an unwanted kiss, you belted him in the mouth.”
“In my defense, I was six, and he’d just finished calling me booger face.”
“Oh the simple days of courting.” Sam smirked. “How’s the shoulder?”
“It’s fine. Just a little sore.”
Sam nodded and said into her shirtsleeve microphone, “OK. She’ll be ready.”
“What’s going on?” Parker said.
“That was Kendrick. There’s a team on their way to get to you. They’ll be here in five.”
“To get me for what?”
“Riley told him after the game they were to come and get you. He wants to whisk you away.”
“He can’t do that. He has a ton of interviews!” Parker’s eyes widened. “Seth is going to kill him.”
“Today he’s the boss. He can do whatever he wants.” Sam turned around and looked at a beaming Seth. “Besides, he’s been there before. He’ll understand.”
“Yeah, right. But what about the rest of the world?” she said. “He has his family here.”
“We’ll keep them entertained. Riley’s family, so they’re family too.”
“I can’t let him do this. No will remember what a great game he played, but they will remember that he bolted out of the stadium after his first Super Bowl win.”
“Morgan,” Sam called out. “Can I see you for a moment?”
Morgan came over and hugged Parker. “Congratulations. Your boyfriend was on fire today.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” Parker needed time to process what she and Riley were going to be to each other. Still, boyfriend had a nice ring to it.
“Parker, it’s perfectly fine to have feelings for Riley,” Avery said as she came over. “I know you do. You don’t have to fight it anymore.”
“I’m not. I just—”
What was she doing? What was she saying? The last couple of weeks had been a nonstop adrenaline boost. It was possible that once the dust settled they’d be back to where they were before. At each other’s throats constantly. What kind of relationship would that be like?
Sam shook her head. “Don’t talk yourself out of something wonderful. That man cares for you. Give him a chance.”
Morgan nodded. “There are plenty of perks to dating a high-profile sports star.”
“Like what? Cameras in my face. Random strangers assessing my looks and spewing insults on social media about how he could do better?”
“No, sweetie. I was talking post-championship, game-winning sex.” Morgan grinned.
“Excuse me?”
Morgan moved closer. “There’s nothing like it, and the Super Bowl is the highest of highs. He’s going to exceed the effort he put on the field in the bedroom, and you are the person he’s trying to please. Trust me, it’s not something you want to miss, and it’s something you’re not likely to forget either. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t hear from you two for a week.”
Parker perked up and looked from Morgan to Sam. “Really?”
“Michelle,” Morgan called out. “I need you to weigh in here.”
“Whatever it is, yes.” Michelle beamed and also hugged Parker. “Your boyfriend who isn’t your boyfriend was awesome today. You’re going to be a lucky woman tonight. Try to do some stretches before. You won’t feel like a stiff pasta noodle in the morning.”
“She doesn’t believe us,” Sam replied.
“No?” Michelle looked around. “Hey Charisma. Can you come here a sec?”
“He did a great job.” Charisma hugged Parker. “What’s up?”
“Can you tell the young Ms. Carson about post-championship, game-winning sex?” Morgan asked.
Charisma let out a deep, devious chuckle. “Parker, there are no words to describe it. No, wait. I can. It’s like an out-of-body experience. I’d testify about it in church, but I know my grandma would never forgive me.”
“Amen,” Morgan replied.
“See?” Sam said. “You have testimony from three wives of sports stars.”
“Uh hum.” Charisma coughed.
Morgan rolled her eyes. “Please, you and Derek are practically common law. Get over yourself and get hitched already.”
“And I have to say J.J. hasn’t played in years, but he’s especially enthusiastic if his team wins a touch football game.” Sam smiled.
“Tate’s that way when he writes a great song,” Isabelle added.
Cassidy laughed. “For Channing it’s reciting the Constitution.”
“Wyatt gets that way after a good night of getting tips.” Avery flashed a wide grin.
The women all looked at her.
“What?” she replied.
“Parker, you and Riley have had a pretty strange couple of weeks. Enjoy the fact that the two of you finally know how you feel about each other. He’s a good man. You can trust him.”
She did trust him. It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done in her life, putting her faith in him. But she’d seen the depths of his caring and concern since they’d been thrown together. There was so much more to the man than the charming, sexy façade. He’d shared a piece of himself with her when he’d opened up about his family and his dreams to be a great football player. She knew he could do it. She could see the greatness in him.
“OK.” Where was the detail? She was ready to see Riley right now.
“What’s your twenty?” Sam said into her shirtsleeve microphone. “Bruiser is ready to go.”
“Bruiser?” She squinted at Sam.
“I thought it was cute.” Sam bit back a smile.
Parker grabbed her sister and squeezed her tight. “Give my apologies to mom and the rest of the family at the celebration party.”
“I will.” Sam squeezed back. “I’m so proud of you. I know you didn’t want to work for me, but I’m glad you took this freelance assignment. You really are Deke Carson
’s kid.”
“You damn right.” Parker sniffed.
Parker was ready when the security team arrived and whisked her away. By the time they were outside, a black limousine was waiting for her. The door opened. It was Riley, still dressed in his uniform, holding a bottle of champagne.
“You are stark raving mad!” She clapped.
“It’s a possibility.” He got out of the vehicle. “But not tonight. I’ve never thought clearer about anything in my life.”
“You won the game. You must be on cloud nine. Someone tried to kill you this morning, and tonight you’ve won a championship.”
“More importantly, I got the girl of my dreams.” He pulled her close and kissed her.
“Let’s go.”
* * *
Riley couldn’t keep his hands off Parker in the car, and the sentiment continued when they finally made it to Parker’s hotel room. He was stinky and sweaty, but she didn’t seem to mind.
He covered her mouth with his as they fumbled their way through the suite, removing each other’s clothes, but couldn’t wait to get to the bed. He removed her panties and sat her on the dresser and quickly sheathed himself with a condom Parker retrieved from the top drawer. He pulled her to the edge and plunged inside of her as Parker wrapped her legs around his waist. It was sheer ecstasy being inside of her. It felt like he’d never really been intimate with a woman before this. It was heart-pounding, mind-numbing, and he loved every minute of it. She was the passion that was missing in his life. He may have won the game today, but that paled in comparison to being with the woman he was madly in love with.
He lifted her up, and they fell onto the bed. She let out a lighthearted yelp and giggled. He could get used to hearing that sound every day of his life. They kept tumbling until she was on top, then she began move in a slowing, grinding motion. He immediately caught the rhythm and moved with her. He reached up and cupped her perfect, full breasts in his hands and rubbed his thumbs over her nipples. They continued in a heated frenzy until they climaxed, and she collapsed on top of him.
Hard Target (All or Nothing Book 1) Page 16