by Violet Paige
I leaned back in my chair, folding my arms together. My image? It was a fucking joke. It was beyond salvation. Everyone knew who Luke Canton really was. I didn’t pretend. I didn’t hide behind press statements.
Her nails clicked on the keyboard and she twirled her screen around to face us.
“Let’s talk about this.” She pointed at a headline from the hospital gala. It must have been the same one Linc read this morning.
“What about it?” I asked.
“We need more of this. All the time. You did an excellent job last night. Perfect.”
“It wasn’t my idea,” I grumbled.
Her eyebrows rose. “It doesn’t have to be. I’ll take care of those things, but from here on out everything you do is scripted. The events. The donations. Signing autographs for kids after the games. Who you hang out with. Everything.”
I felt the vise clamping down on me. I wasn’t the team pet. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to let this girl tell me who I could see. Linc needed to get her pretty white teeth off my ass.
“So you’re going to tell him he can’t continue to see Lexi Wilde?” Linc threw, what he thought was a touchdown, in her face.
Linc’s question had the same effect as a bomb going off in the room. Charlie was stunned, and I had to wait for the smoke to clear to decide if I was going to punch my brother.
“Lexi Wilde?” Charlie’s eyes lit. “The Lexi Wilde? You two are actually together?”
“No. It’s nothing.” I shook off the insinuation. “Linc is screwing around.”
“Now, that is interesting.” She typed into the laptop again and whispered whatever was on the screen. I was busy threatening my fucking brother with my eyes.
“Yes. Yes. She’s in town the rest of today. She posted something on her Instagram this morning. Perfect.” Charlie’s attention turned to me. “I was going to present a list of suitable Austin bachelorettes, but this works even better. We need a woman to clean up your image. I have to say I’m impressed.”
“Hold on. I only met Alexa last night. I don’t want to drag her into this. It has nothing to do with her. What does she have to do with football?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Charlie didn’t give a shit. She operated like a guy that way. “She is your ticket to redemption.”
“That’s not a ticket I’m buying.” My jaw clenched.
Alexa had her own problems. I knew that without knowing the details on what they were. She didn’t show up on my doorstep last night because she had everything she wanted. She showed up because I could give her something she was missing.
“I want you to meet her at the hospital. Take her flowers. Do something sweet. I can help you with that part. Oh, and visit the kids. Try to make it a joint appearance. Completely unplanned and authentic looking.
“And I don’t care how or when, but I want the press to see you kiss her. Plain as day. Nothing blurry—not one of those interpretive pictures. I need a full-on lip-lock that is going to meltdown the internet. I want everyone talking about you two.”
Charlie’s cheeks flushed and her emerald eyes glowed. She was getting off on this. I’d seen the same look in the coaches’ eyes when they came up with a game-winning play. Or on the sideline when I ran a reverse route no one saw coming.
“You have got to be fucking with me,” I growled.
She flattened her palms on the table. “I never fuck around, Luke. Never.”
Thirteen
Alexa
I blinked again. “Luke?”
Jake had hissed at me like a snake on the phone, insisting the Warriors had set up the entire hospital ambush. For a brief second I pictured him with a forked tongue. I wanted Luke to tell me Jake was a paranoid ass as usual. There was no way that he would have set me up like that.
And that kiss. I had felt it down to my toes. He wanted me. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other. And for a few hours I thought he was the sweetest, hottest guy on the planet to entertain the kids. He was in it. I saw him. He joked with them. Tossed the ball and signed autographs. He was some kind of an unreal mix of bad-boy-sweet-sexy-dish that I wanted more of.
“Alexa.” He turned toward the stove, dialing the burner to a low number. I didn’t care about food right now. I cared about an answer.
The whiskey burned in my empty stomach.
Every second that ticked by with Luke’s silence, I had a sinking feeling I knew what the answer was. Damn it. If Jake was right about this, I’d never live it down. Add it to one more of the mistakes he threw in my face on a regular basis. The silence grew to an uncomfortable level.
“I-I can’t believe you aren’t denying it.” I waited. “What would make you do something like this? You have plenty of press. You have paparazzi. Why would you want us to be caught kissing? Why?”
I saw a hint of regret in his eyes. He didn’t deny it. I had accused him and he never fought back. Luke didn’t seem like the kind of man to take wild accusations lightly. All the more reason I was suspicious.
“Luke!”
“Fuck.” He whipped around. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. Ok?”
“Except you had everything to do with it. You knew it was going to happen. You were there. It is not ok. My manager is having a heart attack trying to do damage control.”
“It was supposed to be good for my image,” he tried to explain.
“What? How?” And then I realized what he was saying. How the pieces clicked into place.
I was what made the image complete. A kiss with me somehow righted the balance of his bad boy reputation. For the same reason he pulled me down, I lifted him up. He used me. And he got what he wanted.
I had to get out of here. I looked for my bag, frantic to get out of Luke’s house. I’d call a cab. I’d call Jake if I had to. I wasn’t going to spend another minute under the roof of a man who would trade me in for his own benefit. Dragging and kicking me into the mud. Using my name with ease as if I were his property to dictate. I had enough of that with Jake.
“Alexa, wait.”
Luke followed me to the next room.
“I’m an idiot. A naïve, stupid, girl,” I huffed. “The country sweetheart who got fucked by the bad boy. Got it. I won’t make the mistake again.”
There it was. I spotted the bag where I had dropped it on the leather couch.
“You’re not stupid. It was a dick move.”
I laughed. “Dick? That’s it. Dick move?”
“I’m sorry. Ok? I shouldn’t have let it get that far.”
“Which part?” I steamed. “What part exactly went too far, Luke? The part where you led me to believe you gave a shit about sick kids? The part when I agreed to come back here with you today? The part when I let myself think we had some kind of connection after I spent the night with you?” I stood with my hands on my hips. My cheeks were hot and my hands started to shake. “I’d love to hear it. Which part exactly should you have reined in?”
I don’t know why I felt as betrayed as I did. It wasn’t as if I was in some kind of serious relationship with the quarterback. We had one night together. One amazing, change-my-life kind of night, but nonetheless—only one night. I was overacting to the level of deception. Too late to dial that down now. I was in full-blown Alexa mode.
“The press. That part.” He moved in front of me to grab my shoulders. I almost stumbled into him with the impact. “And I do care about sick kids,” he added. “And you.”
I glared at him. Nothing he could say at this point was going to soften me. I was angry and there was a violation of my trust he couldn’t heal with sexy bedroom eyes and sweet apologies.
“Well, you suck.”
I threw the bag over my shoulder, shaking his heavy hands from my body. I wanted out from under this.
“Don’t you want to hear what happened?” he asked.
I was three steps out of the living room, but I slowed down before I made it to the garage.
“Does it matter?”
“It
does to me. Come back and sit down, Alexa.”
It was the way he said my name. The gravel in his voice. The forlorn look in his eyes. Shit. My phone buzzed again and I hesitated to answer Jake’s next call.
“Don’t answer it,” he instructed.
My eyes darted to Luke. I didn’t have to listen to him. I didn’t have to do anything he told me to do. But I thought about last night. How I gave myself to him. How when I let myself be free in his arms I’d never felt more alive in my life. Listening to Luke Canton last night had been the best decision I’d made in years.
He unlocked something in me I couldn’t get anyone else to see. No one wanted to see it. But Luke did. And only an hour ago I had been ready to go right back to that place. To his bed. To do all the dirty and naughty things we could under his sheets before I had to get on a plane to Nashville. I’d only had a few short hours with the man who had made every part of my body vibrate with ecstasy. It wasn’t enough.
And before now I wasn’t worried about his reputation. I didn’t care about what people thought about Luke. All I cared about was what he could do for me. How he could make me feel. I was here to drain every last drop of pleasure from him before I flew out of town. Because what I wanted was the bad boy. I wanted a rule breaker. Someone to push me.
Did that make me any better than Luke? Or were we the same? Both needing something from the other? Using each other? It was personal gain in different forms. Shit.
My boots clacked along the hardwoods. I stopped in front of the couch.
“Ok, I’m listening. You have two minutes,” I threatened.
“I didn’t think you would turn around.”
“I didn’t think I would either.” My eyes narrowed.
What was the feeling running through my body? Defeat? Anger? Anticipation? I closed my eyes. Luke had set me on edge and we were completely clothed. There was an electric source that trickled from his body. No matter what I did I was drawn to it. Angry or not.
“Sit.” He patted the leather seat and I did as he commanded.
I felt tiny, dwarfed by the huge pieces of furniture and Luke’s big frame. He was tall even when he was sitting.
“I’m sorry about the press attack.” His hand landed on my knee. “It wasn’t my idea, but I went along with it.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to spend time with you.” His hand inched farther up my leg, and I couldn’t help the fire that spread between my thighs.
“You could have done that without the cameras.”
“And I was going to. We had that planned before the paparazzi showed up. After you left this morning, I had a meeting with my new PR consultant. Charlie says I have to rebuild my image. I think our meeting at the gala last night was the inspiration for the whole thing. You could help change the public’s perception of me.”
“But it’s only perception, right? You aren’t actually interested in becoming a different person.” I didn’t know how I could sound so hostile, while at the same time my body was firing with want for him. His fingers dug into my skin.
“I never said I wanted to be a new man.” His voice deepened. “I play football. I want to play football. This is the condition I’ve been given if I want to stay a Warrior.”
I gasped when he shoved my other leg to the side and began to stroke the inner fabric. But I didn’t stop him. I sat listening, talking, and soaking in every stroke.
“And using me seemed like an acceptable price.” I ignored that in this moment I was using him. Draining every sexual thrill I could from his hands. My body syphoned every shred of lust rolling off of him.
“I was going to see you anyway, Alexa. The press was called in by PR. And they could have followed us if they wanted to. It might have happened anyway. I was going to kiss you like that no matter who was watching. I couldn’t keep my hands off you.”
“But you led them down there. They knew exactly where we were going to be.”
“Fuck, Alexa. I’m sorry. I had to do it.”
My breath hitched when his fingers crawled to the center of my legs and tugged at the zipper on my jeans. He was crazier than I thought if he had any expectation of sex right now, because I was absolutely not going to … Oh shit.
His hand dove between the lace on my panties and the denim of my jeans. I wiggled, giving him more room to explore.
“Had to?” I gasped the words.
“Yes. Had to. You have to get it. Football is my life. I can’t do anything else. I am the Warriors QB. You have music. I have football.”
His fingers strummed over my clit and my eyes rolled back as my lashes fluttered closed. I tried to force down the sudden fire burning in my core.
“I fucking hate to admit it.” He gnashed his teeth. “I have to do what they want until I’m off probation with management. Good guy image all the way for now.”
It was hard to think while he made my body want everything physical and erotic. He held me in a haze so that I only cared about raging screams and toe-curling orgasms that were gifted by his one-of-a-kind cock. I realized how alike we were. I had the image he needed. And he had the attitude I wanted. He had lived free and wild. He didn’t care what people thought. I wanted that so badly.
I tried to breathe slowly, letting his fingers work my clit with perfect precision while my last remnants of sanity held on.
“I get it,” I whispered. “I get it, Luke.” I sighed this time with a mixture of understanding and desire. I did understand him.
“Good,” he whispered. “I want you to get it. I want you to get everything I can give you right now, baby.”
I was falling. Falling into his hands. Forgetting that I tried to walk out. Forgetting that two minutes ago I was livid and ready to punch him. All my body knew was that Luke Canton delivered on his promises.
“I think we should fuck until you feel better about everything,” he growled in my ear, pushing a thick finger inside me.
I nodded my head vigorously. Exactly. That’s exactly what we needed to do.
Somehow I had lifted my hips and my jeans were in a pile on the floor. Luke’s eyes were hungry.
“I know how to make you feel better.”
I wasn’t prepared when he spun me around, laying me over the back of the couch so my ass was in the air. His hand squeezed and massaged while the other peeled the lace to my knees. I was at his complete mercy. I obeyed as he quickly removed the tank top over my arms and head. He unsnapped my bra and I raised my hands to free my chest.
The leather felt cool and soft against my skin. I rubbed my breasts up and down and my nipples perked under the friction. My body responded to Luke’s commands as if I knew they were coming. As if I were desperately waiting for him to give me the next direction.
He pumped two wide fingers inside me and I whimpered. “Oh, God.”
I rode him like that, letting him pry my entrance while I bounced and coated his fingers with fresh juices.
“Fuck, Alexa.” He pulled the back of my hair, biting my ear with a quick snap of his teeth. His fingers slammed inside me and I moaned with pleasure.
“Feels good,” I whispered.
“Does it?” His voice in my ear sent shivers straight to my core.
“Yes.”
“Watching you fuck my fingers like this is hot.” He kissed my neck and my shoulder. I felt the hot rigid point of his tongue descend along my spine.
And then I bucked when I felt it curve over my ass. I froze. But Luke was quick. And within a heartbeat he was planted on the floor, his hands pushing upward between my legs and his mouth clamped tight over my clit.
“Oh, God.” My head hung back as he sucked and licked. I rode his face as shamelessly as I did his fingers.
His teeth grazed my clit and I clawed at the couch for stability. My knees wobbled and my breath was ragged. Holy hell I was going to come in Luke’s living room, all over his face.
He growled with satisfaction as my hips jutted harder. I needed it. I couldn’t stop now
even if I wanted to save the last bit of dignity I had. I rode and rocked. His tongue plunged inside my entrance, twisting and swirling.
“Oh shit, Luke. Oh God.”
“Come for me, baby. Come hard.”
The light shone through the wooden blinds. The only sound was me gasping for air as Luke coaxed the deep orgasm from my core with his tongue.
My nipples rubbed over the leather and I lost it. The orgasm cascaded from inside me, spilling through my limbs and pouring from my voice like a song.
Luke sucked and stroked until I panted for relief. “Please,” I begged.
I didn’t think I would survive another explosive orgasm. But he was relentless chasing his fingers with this tongue in and out of my entrance. The second one tore through me more viciously than the first.
“Don’t fight it, feel it, or I’ll make you come all over again.”
I groaned, knowing he’d never stop until I came the way he wanted. I gave in. I closed my eyes, lifting my hair from my neck. Jerking my hips. Sighing. Moaning. Saying Luke’s name over and over. Like a runaway rip current it made me relinquish all control. It pulled and tugged at me until my entire body was drenched in sweat and bliss.
He chuckled, lowering my ass to the couch. I turned to face him. My hair fell in my eyes. But Luke stood, scooping me in his arms.
“Feeling better?”
“Oh God, yes.” I smiled. I’d never let sex wrap me in such sinful rapture before. He made me a fucking goddess.
“Good. Because I’ve got more therapy planned for you.”
He kicked through the bedroom door.
“Therapy?”
Just the fact that Luke had plans for me made me feel a new twinge in my core. I liked round one. Round one was epic. Round one made me a new woman.
“This is my version of fuck-the-brand therapy.”
I looked at him quizzically.
“You know. The brands that define us. The ones that caused this bullshit fight between us.”
I nodded. “I do know.”
“So, let’s do what we want to do. No brands. No labels. No managers. Just you and me fucking each other until tomorrow.”