A Wild Ride

by Vivian Arend

Katy adjusted Tanner on her hip, smiling softly as she paused to answer. “I was blue. Sad that Mom was gone, but like most young kids, more focused on the next thing, and the next day.”

  The conversation on top of everything simply added to the whirling in Nicole’s brain. She was still trying to sort things out when the evening came to a close, waving goodbyes to everyone before Troy helped her into his truck.

  Maybe she didn’t have all the answers, but she figured it was as good a time as any. “Want to come over to my place for a while?”

  “Sure.”

  The flash in his eyes was one hundred percent sexual. She had no objections to where they ended the evening, but first, she had an agenda.

  She was no longer thinking about their relationship being over, she was thinking how to make it never end. If they were going to do this forever thing, she wanted it all. Him right now, him in the future…

  Him of the past.

  No matter how tightly capped his history was, Katy’s comments combined with a few things he’d said over their time together made Nicole reflect.

  She’d always loved figuring out puzzles. She’d just never realized Troy Thompson was the biggest mystery in her life in ways she’d never imagined.

  Troy watched with amusement as Nic wandered past him for the third time in two minutes. They’d made it to her house and she’d been pacing ever since. Turning on music, grabbing a drink, adjusting the lights.

  “Enough. Quit fidgeting.” He caught her by the hand and tugged her off balance, tipping her from her feet into his lap. “I want a kiss.”

  She lifted her lips willingly enough, warm fingers curling through his hair as their bodies nestled together. Soft in all the right places, he thought as he settled his hands on her hips and brought her closer.

  “Hmmm, you’re distracting me,” she whispered against his lips.

  “You got something else you need to do tonight? Paperwork? Month-end accounts?” Troy pulled back far enough to brush his lips over her cheek.

  “I want to talk,” she confessed. “And apologize.”

  Troy had wondered if she’d get around to mentioning her parents’ conversation. He planted his feet on the floor and twisted until he could relax back against the couch, all the time keeping her butt firmly positioned in his lap. “Talk, but you’re not going anywhere.”

  Nic draped an arm around his neck, pressing her other palm to his face. “I don’t know if you overheard my parents being idiots, and I debated not saying anything in case you hadn’t, but you need to know I’m very happy with how things are going. Between us, I mean.”

  “Except for your parents being idiots?”

  “Except for that,” she agreed. Her head tilted slightly. “They do like you.”

  “I hear that a lot,” Troy deadpanned. “I’m a likable guy.” He lowered his gaze to where his hand lay against her thigh, stroking lightly back and forth over the worn denim of her jeans.

  “Troy?”

  “Hmmm?” He curled his fingers around her leg, lifting until she ended up straddling him. The position put her close enough the heat of her sex sank through the layers between them to tease his cock, and he instinctively rubbed them together.

  Nic laughed softly. “One-track mind.”

  “I’m a healthy male in the prime of life. Additional tracks don’t kick in until I turn thirty or something.” Troy nuzzled against her neck, breathing in the scent of her skin. Warm and aroused, even if she wanted to talk.

  “Bullshit,” she murmured. “You’re not just a sex machine. You’re one of the smartest people I know.”

  He reached for the buttons on her shirt. “Compliments, now. Well, I might even let you do dirty things to me if this keeps up.”

  “I’m going to get you to talk to me,” she warned even as she stroked his shoulders.

  Troy smiled. It was nice to see her relaxed, even if she was determinedly persistent about whatever was on her mind. He opened another button, just enough he could brush his knuckles against the skin showing above the upper edge of her bra. “I propose a game.”

  “Of course you do.” Their eyes met as a smile curled her lips.

  “Strip Questions.”

  Her laughter rolled over him. “For every question I ask, I lose an article of clothing? What kind of game is that?”

  “I made it up myself. I think it has potential to become the new party game.”

  He could see the gears turning—probably mentally counting how many items she was wearing before deciding not enough.

  “Troy…I’m serious. Katy said you’re the toughest person to get the truth out of. So prove her wrong, and tell me your secrets, pretty please?”

  As much fun as it was to tease, Troy had no objections to helping Nicole deal with whatever was on her mind. Sharing was another part of proving they were right for each other, wasn’t it?

  Something inside opened a tiny crack—hope rising that maybe, just maybe, he’d get to share some secrets he’d held inside forever. But only if she asked…

  He tucked a finger under her chin and tipped her face toward him. “I’ll stop mucking around. What’s on your mind, baby?”

  Nicole adjusted position slightly, forearms resting on his shoulders as she continued to stoke her fingers over his neck and through his hair. “Why didn’t you go to university?”

  Holy shit, she’d asked. “Wow—starting with the big guns.”

  Her expression softened. “I’m not asking to hurt you, but you turning down that scholarship made no sense.”

  “They needed me at the garage.”

  Her nose wrinkled. “Your three brothers and your dad all worked there.”

  Which was true, but it wasn’t the complete story. A dozen people working the shop wouldn’t have given Thompson and Sons what they’d really needed back then—

  Troy eased open that crack a little further. “Does it change things if I tell you I didn’t want to play football?”

  “At university?”

  “Ever.” Her forehead creased as she examined him closely. He continued before she could interrupt. “I played because there was a good reason to, and yeah, I was talented enough to help the team, but that’s it. Football was a means to an end.”

  “Okaaaaay.” She dragged out the word, but was obviously thinking, not being a smartass. “I never guessed… I thought you enjoyed football. You and Mike had a great team the last two years of high school. I went to all the games”—she made a face—“we all did. The entire family. We’d end up sitting with your dad, Len, and Katy, eating too many stadium hotdogs.”

  And every time he’d look into the stands and see his father sitting there, it made playing worthwhile. Memories swirled—

  A soft touch on his cheek brought him back. “Troy?”

  “Just trying to decide how many old bones to dig up,” he admitted.

  “This has something to do with football?”

  He nodded, frustration rising. “It gets complicated, because it’s not only about me, it’s about other people and their secrets. Their pain.”

  She curled her arms around him. “Your dad?”

  “Yeah,” he acknowledged. “When Mom died, part of Dad did too. He got lost in the bottle for a while, but the year I hit high school, he read some article about the football team. None of my brothers really played—I think Clay had one season before he and Mitch got busy trying to keep the shop from going under while Dad drank. For some reason, though, he saw that flyer and got all excited. He insisted I try out.”

  “So you did. Even though you weren’t interested?”

  “He was interested, and that was good enough for me.” Troy stroked a strand of hair back off her face, tucking it behind her ear. “I hated that training meant I couldn’t help as much at the shop, but every time I had a game, he was there, Nic. There, and sober, and so damn proud his son was the star quarterback—it made him come alive for a little while. How could I not put in the effort to make that happen, no matter what
it took on my part?”

  “Oh, Troy.” She patted his chest. “You played for him.”

  “For the family, because those nights he’d come home and be something like a father. He’d talk to Katy and Len. He’d help deal with the tougher repair jobs Clay and Mitch were fighting with. He’d be our dad again, at least for a few hours before the misery would catch hold.”

  She paused to think it through. “It must be a real pain in the ass every time someone pokes you about turning down the scholarship. Or about being a superstar jock.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my God, the never-ending conversation about the throw of the decade.”

  Troy laughed. “I didn’t hate football, but I didn’t love it. And my ego is certainly not based around whether or not I can throw a damn pigskin, so I ignore them. I just slap up a wall and it doesn’t matter. But, Nic?” He tilted her head so their gazes met straight on. “I don’t want to pretend with you.”

  “I will never again jock-block you.” She blinked hard, nose twitching.

  There was another issue. “I would hate for my father to find out I played football to keep him from being passed-out stinking drunk the three days a week we had games. All that would do is make him feel guilty.”

  “That’s why you never make a big fuss about not drinking, right? To protect him?”

  She and Mike were probably the only people who’d noticed he always abstained. Troy paused before nodding. “And I don’t talk about any of this with my brothers—they saw things differently, and that’s fine—”

  “They thought you were slacking off.” She shook her head.

  “Hell, maybe I was, a bit,” he started, but she interrupted again.

  “You were helping in your own way,” Nic insisted.

  He nodded, stroking her skin again. “Doesn’t change the past to tell them everything I did for them that they never knew about. It would just make them feel like crap. Why bother? I’m a big boy. I don’t need to be petted and told I’m pretty.”

  “I promise, I won’t say a word. About any of it.” Sad understanding shone in her eyes. “Do you ever think about going to university now?”

  “They still need me,” he said quietly.

  “Ignore that for a moment. If you could go, what would you take? Advanced mechanics?”

  “Teaching. Or coaching.”

  Her eyes widened. “That’s not at all what I expected.”

  He snorted. “Yeah, I suppose not.”

  “No, I shouldn’t have assumed. Would you teach shop?”

  “God, no.” The answer came instantly. He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, but the idea of spending a lifetime surrounded by tires and timing belts makes my skin crawl. I’d prefer to teach phys ed, or maybe go a different route entirely and become a personal trainer.”

  “That would be a way to use your Golden Boy reputation for good, not evil,” she teased gently.

  “I liked working out and using my body.” His lips twitched. “The experience may as well open a few doors.”

  Nicole leaned in and kissed him. Soft and slow. Tongues barely touching before she pulled back and started all over again. He let her set the pace, smiling as she fluttered kisses along his jaw and down his neck.

  It had been a huge moment for him—sharing like that. Troy might not need to be petted, but it didn’t mean he objected to some good old-fashioned admiration from Nic. Her opinion mattered, and he trusted her to keep his secrets. He didn’t want to think about how much it would hurt if this all fell apart on them, and he lost the chance to be with her.

  “I’m not happy with you,” she said even as she tugged at his T-shirt.

  “Really? Damn, what would you be doing right now if you were happy? Because I’m pretty good with the status quo.”

  She helped him peel the fabric off over his head, her hands instantly returning to caress his chest. “Why did it take until now to have this conversation?”

  “Because it wasn’t important—”

  Fingers pressed over his lips stopped him in his tracks, her frown firmly in position as she glared at him. “No bullshit. You promised.”

  He waited until her fingers loosened, slipping a kiss to her palm before she pulled her hand away. “No bullshit. I’m glad you know, but we’re twenty-six years old, Nic. What happened nine, ten years ago is part of what got us to this point, but what’s here and now is what matters.”

  She nodded decisively. “Agreed.”

  Then her eyes widened as he slid his hands under her shirt, and she moaned as he undid her bra and pushed aside the fabric to cover her naked breasts with his palms.

  “Talking time is over,” he murmured against her lips. “I want you.”

  Her mind was still trying to catch up, but now it was the touch of his hands on her body that made it impossible to focus. Troy used his thumbs and fingers with devastating skill, pinching her nipples lightly until he had her squirming. The hard length pressed between her legs became more apparent every minute. It was perfect, and wonderful, and oh my God, hard to breathe, but she needed one thing to be clear.

  “I get to reinstate talking time whenever I want,” she warned.

  “We need to add a naked rule to talk time, to keep things rolling.” He grabbed the bottom of her shirt and peeled it upward, stripping it over her head as she lifted her arms to help. Her clothes were abandoned to the floor, Troy hummed his approval. He returned his hands to cup her ass, lifting her gently as he brought her forward to use his tongue.

  “I’m all for that tradition,” Nic gasped. “Except it will make public conversations a little awkward.”

  She clutched his shoulders as he swirled his tongue around her nipples until they glistened.

  “People can look away. Or watch. I don’t fucking care.”

  He put his mouth over her entire nipple and sucked, his hands trembling as she arched toward him, instinctively trying to get closer. She wanted to crawl into him and never leave.

  Nicole had imagined that they’d be going slow today, but the longer he touched her, the less that seemed like a good thing.

  Troy seemed to have the same idea, thank goodness, scrambling for the button and zipper on her jeans, shoving the material off her hips. Only when she would have stepped back to lose them completely, he forced her to stop. He hauled her onto the couch, one foot on either side of his hips, her jeans bunched around one ankle.

  “Oh God, Troy…”

  He ignored her protests and brought her forward to his mouth, going from zero to a hundred in an instant. Tongue slamming into her body as he gripped her ass and held her in place. Teasing along one side, then the other, before focusing all of his attention on her clit.

  Her legs shook as he licked, tongue rasping over sensitive nerves. Her legs quivered when he paused. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I won’t stop until you’ve come at least a couple times.

  Nicole clutched his head for balance, the room whirling around her. Heat stormed throughout her system, a tight ball of pleasure flashing wider and wider with every caress until her sex tightened down around emptiness.

  The wave of her orgasm rushed over her, barely ebbing before he went back to work, slower this time, harder. Flicking his tongue faster and faster as the pressure built up and up until there was nowhere to go except with the explosion.

  Nicole moaned as he moved his mouth away, holding her legs until she was steady.

  “My turn,” he said, drawing her attention downward as he brought her lower.

  “Holy cow. When did you…?” Nic gasped as his cock bumped into tender skin.

  “We’ll go slow,” he promised, guiding the head of his cock between her legs as she hovered over him. “Take your time, babe, but I’m going to fill you up good.”

  His eyes—mesmerizing as he stared back. One thick inch at a time slipped into her as she rocked up and down. “Did I pass out for a bit?” she asked. “I swear you didn’t have time to get out your cock, let alone put on a condom.

  “Desperation drives a ma
n to amazing heights,” he offered, his lashes fluttering up for a second as she took him nearly all the way into her body. “Jeez, that’s so fucking good.”

  She hummed in agreement, regaining enough strength to turn it into a “torment Troy” moment. Small pulses, over and over. Just the head of his cock enveloped in her heat as she grew wetter. Troy held her breasts in his hands, leaning in at every opportunity to steal a lick. Or pinching and teasing until she was so distracted she hadn’t realized the small teases had given way to full-out strokes over the length of his cock on every motion.

  Thick and hot, his cock stretched her perfectly. Troy caught her hips and took control of the timing, rocking upward as he pulled her down to meet him.

  Nicole let her head fall back and pleasure take her again.

  Driving deep. Thrusting harder, and harder. Sensation grew then blurred, holding her captive on the edge until she couldn’t take it any longer. She called out his name and broke.

  This time there was something to hold on to. Something very noticeable and wonderful. Her pussy clenched hard on his length as he continued to pound into her.

  “Fuck, Nic. Yes. That’s it. Squeeze me tight. Holy—”

  Troy shuddered to a stop, muscles rock-hard as he quivered with the power of his orgasm. Heat and pleasure created a cocoon around them as their naked chests aligned. Connected and shaking, panting for air and grasping to find a way to keep close. Closer still, even. His body inside hers like it was meant to be.

  Nicole curled her arms around his shoulders and let him support her. Let him care for her as satisfaction rolled in and over, and left them floating in dreamy contentment.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Nicole pushed through the back door at her sister’s, phone against her ear.

  “Hey, Laurel, it’s Nic. I can’t come over. Sorry, but Jodie asked Mike to babysit because Dale’s got a meeting tonight, which means I need to pop in and make sure my brother isn’t feeding the kids Red Hots or jars of Maraschino cherries.”

  Her friend’s soft laugh rippled over the line. “These are frequent events when Mike babysits?”