Possession
Book Eight in the Texas Titans Series
Cheryl Douglas
Copyright © by Cheryl Douglas
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Possession © 2015 Cheryl Douglas
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Possession—Book Eight
Dalton Mitchell lived a charmed life. He had the big football contract, endless parties, beautiful women and he was doing what he loved. Until it all ended. He had to figure out how to start over and the one person he’d been counting on to help him was bailing on him to pursue her own dream.
Sophie Easton never intended to fall for Dalton. It was supposed to be a diversion. But harmless flirting led to steamy nights between the sheets Sophie feared had ruined her for all other men. When she got her big break in Los Angeles she knew she had to take it… even if it meant leaving Dalton behind.
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Chapter One
After one of the most climactic moments of his life, at the hands of the most generous lover he’d ever had, Dalton Mitchell knew if Sophie’s ministrations proved to be too much for his overtaxed heart, he would die a happy man.
“God, you’re incredible,” he whispered, gasping for a breath that seemed just out of reach. “Just when I think you couldn’t make me feel any better, you do.”
Something felt different in their lovemaking tonight. They’d been intimate for months, but tonight it felt like they’d crossed some invisible line. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part. He’d been careful not to expect too much from Sophie, since she made it clear she wanted to keep it casual, but since he was pretty confident she wasn’t seeing anyone else, he couldn’t understand why she seemed so determined to keep him at arm’s length.
At first he thought it had something to with the fact that he was good friends with her older brother, Brett. But Sophie insisted she didn’t need her brother’s permission or approval.
Sophie laughed, collapsing beside him. “I don’t think I can move.”
“No, problem,” he said, drawing her into his side. “You can spend the night.”
“Uh, I don’t think so, Mitch. Not tonight.”
He knew he shouldn’t be surprised. That was another one of her rules, no overnight dates. “Why do you call me that?” he demanded, feeling the frustration mounting. Since he couldn’t address the real cause of it, he decided to focus on a lesser irritation.
“What?” she asked, propping her head in her hand as she looked down at him. “Mitch? Everyone calls you that.”
“Not everyone,” he said, chastising himself for thinking about how beautiful she was, even though he was supposed to be irritated with her. Her long dark hair was swirling around her shoulders, just the way he liked it, while her green eyes flashed with amusement. “The guys on the football team called me that. My buddies call me that. I’ve never had a girlfriend call me that before.”
“Well, since I’m not your girlfriend, it’s a moot point.” She patted his bare chest. “Think of me as one of the guys, with…” She glanced at her chest, knowing it was his weakness. “A few perks.”
He’d made the mistake of referring to her as his girlfriend before and she always set him straight. But the more time they spent together, the more it stung. “I got the feeling something shifted tonight,” he said, knowing he had to tread carefully.
Sophie was skittish when it came to relationships and he knew she spooked easily. The last thing he wanted was to drive her away. While he wasn’t thrilled with their current arrangement, it was better than not seeing her at all.
Sophie sighed heavily, any hint of humor vanishing. “Honestly, this is probably the last time we’ll be together like this so I wanted it to be memorable, for both of us.”
If Dalton thought his heart had been hammering before, that was nothing compared to the full- on assault he was experiencing in his chest now. “What the hell are you talking about? Why would this be…” God, he couldn’t even say it. “The last time we’re together?”
“This isn’t easy for me,” Sophie said, rolling onto her back and pulling the white sheet up under her arms. “You know I think you’re great-”
“But?” He rolled on to his side, determined to make her look him in the eye. If she was going to dump him, she was going to have to find the courage to face him while she did it.
“I’m moving to Los Angeles, Dalton.”
He felt the walls closing in on him as the impact of her words crushed him. She was serious. She was leaving Arlington and him behind. “Why? When?”
“You know my handbags have been getting a lot of love from the boutiques in L.A. lately”
“So? You’ve been running your business just fine from here all this time. You’ve managed to get in to all the major markets by travelling back and forth.” Dalton didn’t mean to sound selfish. He knew how important Sophie’s business was to her. She’d gone from selling her hand-made leather bags at craft fairs just five years ago to creating a multi-million dollar brand, with her sought-after designs featured in some of the chicest boutiques in the country.
“I’ve taken it as far as I can on my own,” she said softly, looking up at him from beneath her long lashes. “I need help taking it to the next level. The last time I was in L.A. I met with a potential investor. He’s a big name in the fashion industry. He’s confident he can help me get into places like Sak’s and Bergdorf’s, but he wants to be hands-on. He’s offered to buy twenty-five percent of my business, but only if I move to L.A. so he can help me run it.”
Dalton knew he couldn’t ask her to choose between him and her business, but he couldn’t let her just walk out of his life as though they meant nothing to each other either. “I don’t understand why you need an investor. Your company is doing well. Why do you need someone to-”
“Jeremy has the kind of connections I could only dream about,” she explained. “I need him if I want to take my company to the next level. It’s not that I want to sell a portion of my business. I don’t. But I need to give him some incentive to help me and he won’t do it without some serious skin in the game.”
“He’s asking a lot of you,” Dalton said, scrambling to think of some reason she couldn’t leave. He could tell her the truth, that he’d fallen in love with her, but he knew that wouldn’t be fair to her
. “Your family and friends are here.” Not to mention me. “Doesn’t he realize that?”
“Sweetie,” Sophie said, stroking his cheek. “He doesn’t care. The only thing he cares about is making money. It’s not all that different from your days playing professional football. You had to go to the team willing to pay the most, right? It didn’t matter whether it was half-way across the country. You did it because football was your life and playing professionally had always been your dream. It’s the same for me. This is what I’ve always wanted to do and now I’m finally getting a chance to live my dream.”
“Yeah, but…” How could he argue with that?
“Please,” she said, grasping his hand. “I know this is sudden, but I’m hoping you can be happy for me?”
“Of course I’m happy for you.” He held her tight, knowing this may be the last time he would have her in his bed. “Just because you’re moving to L.A., that doesn’t mean we have to stop seeing each other. I could fly out-”
She silenced him with a brief kiss followed by a sad smile. “I’m going to be working crazy hours for the first little while, hon. I won’t have time for a social life, much less a long distance re-” She stopped just short of calling what they had a relationship. “Um, arrangement.”
“So I’d just be an inconvenience. Is that what you’re saying?” He couldn’t help feeling hurt. He was willing to do anything to extend the intimacy, but she clearly didn’t feel the same way.
“I never intended for this to happen,” she said, rolling on to her side until they were face-to-face. “When we started this,” she said, gesturing between them. “We agreed it would just be for fun. We’d keep it casual because neither one of us was looking for anything more.”
“Yeah, but that was months ago, Soph. A lot has changed since then.” He wanted to remind her of the amazing moments they’d shared, but knew he’d be wasting his breath. She’d clearly made up her mind about the move and his pleading would only embarrass them both.
“I know it has.” She ran her hand over his shoulder, down his bicep. “These have been some of the best months of my life. I’ve had relationships before, some serious, but I’ve never had this much fun with a man.” She winked. “In and out of bed. And I think that had a lot to do with the fact we were such good friends.”
He hated that she was talking about their relationship in the past tense, as though she already had one foot out the door. “People make long distance relationships work all the time, you know. If we both think things are so great, why shouldn’t we keep seeing each other?”
“Come on, now that your sister has decided to take some time off to spend with her babies and you’re the acting president of the agency, the demands on your time wouldn’t allow you to hop a plane whenever you felt like it, just to see me.”
He wanted to argue with her, but she was right. Their family’s sports agency was one of the largest and most respected in the country and he was determined to show growth over the next quarter, to prove to both his father and sister that his time on the football field had prepared him for this challenge.
He knew his sister, Sabrina, was hoping to return to the agency when her twins were a bit older, but she’d alluded to the fact she’d be happier with less responsibility, which left Dalton to fill her impressive shoes.
“We can work something out,” he said, wracking his brain to think of a solution they could both live with.
He cursed his stupidity for taking that last Oxy before Sophie arrived, but the pain he’d learned to live with while playing football was becoming unbearable and keeping the pain and his dependency on the pain relievers a secret from his loved ones was becoming more and more of a challenge.
“I wish I could say I thought that was possible,” Sophie said, tucking one hand under her pillow. “But this is a pivotal time for my business. I have to stay focused.”
“That means you’re not allowed to have a life outside of work?” His muscles tensed as he flexed his fist in the gap between them. “And you think that’s healthy? You’ll burn out if you don’t take time for yourself, Soph. Take it from me. I know all about that.” Not that he’d trade the years he’d spent playing professional football for anything, but only he knew how much his quest to be the best had cost him.
“I appreciate your concern, but-”
“Maybe I’m being selfish!” He swore softly when she frowned and edged further back on the bed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout at you. I just… I thought this was going somewhere. Now you’re telling me it’s over?”
***
Sophie hadn’t expected this reaction from Dalton. He was a notorious player. During his pro career, he’d had women in every city. She went into this with her eyes wide open. Assuming monogamy would be too much to hope for, she decided to have some fun instead of wasting her time analyzing his every word and action, as she’d done in previous relationships.
“Our friendship doesn’t have to be over,” she said, trying to soften the blow. “My friends and family are still here. I’ll be visiting when I can.” When he didn’t seem impressed by her concession, she said, “In fact, my contract with Jeremy has a one-year contingency. If it doesn’t go well, I have the option to buy him out. So I’ve decided to keep my condo here and rent it out instead of selling it, just in case.”
Sophie knew it wasn’t fair to give him false hope, since she fully intended to make L.A. her permanent home regardless of whether or not her partnership with Jeremy lived up to her expectations.
“Are you saying when you come to town we could still hook up?” He winced, obviously fearing he’d offended her. “Sorry, poor choice of words. You know that’s not what this is to me.”
“I know.” She smiled, thinking how much she’d come to care about Dalton over the past several months. Leaving him was the one thing she feared most, but she had to remain focused on all she stood to gain from this merger with her new partner. “I don’t think we should make any promises to each other, or have any expectations. Why don’t we just see what happens?”
He rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. “When do you have to leave?”
“Um, I have a flight late tomorrow afternoon.”
“You can’t be serious.” He shook his head, sounding dejected when he asked. “This has obviously been in the works a long time. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Sophie had considered telling him half a dozen times, but could never find the right time. With her bags packed and airline ticket booked, she knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. “I didn’t want to waste our time together arguing.” She inched closer, resting her hand over his heart. “And maybe a part of me was worried that you’d cut me loose sooner if you found out I was leaving. I know it was selfish, but I wanted more time with you.”
He covered her hand with his. “I don’t want you to go, baby.”
Her heart lurched. She’d never seen any trace of vulnerability from Dalton before. He’d grown up the class clown who went on to be the team prankster. To him life was just one big party and he was the guest of honor.
“There’s a huge part of me that wants to stay right here.” By that she meant in his bed. “But I haven’t worked this hard to turn down the opportunity of a lifetime. Please try to understand.”
“I do.” He sighed before kissing her hand. “I want to be bitter, but I can’t. In your position I’d probably do the same thing.”
She loved that he was willing to cut her some slack. She knew her previous boyfriends wouldn’t be so gracious. “I don’t suppose you’d like to be my date to Carly and Brett’s wedding next month?” She wasn’t sure how he would respond to the invitation, given her news, but she knew there was no one else she’d rather have with her to help their family celebrate.
“I thought you wanted to keep this just between us,” Dalton said. “When I asked about-”
“I know what I said.” Sophie had been trying to protect herself, but despite her best efforts, she was stil
l getting hurt. The fact that she had only herself to blame didn’t make her feel any better. “Maybe I was wrong.”
“Hell of a time to decide that,” Dalton muttered, rolling his eyes. “When you’ll be living in another state.”
“I know this isn’t easy,” she reiterated. “And I’m sorry if I blind-sided you.” She gestured to the rumpled bed. “Obviously my timing sucks, but if I’d told you earlier we wouldn’t have had this one last time together.”
“Don’t say that,” Dalton said, clenching his jaw. “I don’t believe this was our last time together and you shouldn’t either.”
She’d never seen him look more determined, not even during his last Superbowl game. “You need to get on with your life.” Just because she had no interest in dating didn’t mean he shouldn’t.
“What if I don’t want to?”
She never thought he’d wear cantankerous well, but he did. Perhaps because he was fighting for more time with her. “Do you want to remain single forever?” She’d seen him with his sister’s twins. He adored them, giving a whole new meaning to the term ‘doting uncle’.
“No, I don’t.” He closed his eyes, his features suddenly pinched as though he was struggling with some unseen pain.
“Are you okay?” she asked, gripping his powerful bicep.
“Honestly? No, I’m not okay.”
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked, fearing his knee injury may be bothering him again. “Do you need a Tylenol or maybe some ice?”
“There’s no pill for the pain I’m feeling, Soph.” He turned his head, his glazed eyes opening marginally. “I’m afraid I’m just gonna have to learn to live with this.”
Chapter Two
Possession (Texas Titans #8) Page 1