by Violet Paige
I was prepared for this part. Steve had been explicit with how to answer the legal questions.
“The Warriors have been a part of my family heritage. Dylan wants to focus on his career. He can’t do that and run the franchise.”
“Yeah,” he added. “I’ll leave the family business in Vanessa’s hands.”
“Does that mean you’re willing to sign a pre-nup to that effect?” she pried.
I was starting to dislike Chantel Morris. Where were the questions about the romantic proposal? Why wasn’t she asking if I wanted to be a June bride?
Dylan’s voice deepened. “I’m willing to do whatever the Warriors need.”
“Does that mean you’re making decisions in your relationship based on the Warriors franchise?”
“No, I didn’t say that.” Dylan clenched his teeth in an awkward smile. “What I’m saying is that we don’t want our engagement to be anything but a good thing for the team. I’ll sign a pre-nup if that makes the team more secure.”
Chantel nodded her head. “That sounds noble of you, Dylan.”
I could only imagine what Steve was thinking as he watched the optics on this interview unravel.
“In the weeks since your grandfather’s death there have been reports that the transition of team ownership may not have been as smooth as the fans were led to believe.” Chantel held up a piece of paper. “You have an older brother, Daniel McCade who was the original heir to the franchise, isn’t that correct?”
I had no idea where she was going with this question. It didn’t sound good.
“Yes, but the transition has been completed and I have really settled in at the Warriors offices.”
Chantel didn’t let up. “My understanding from an inside source is that your brother does have a legal claim to the team if he did choose to contest the will.” I was going to lose it. Possibly throw up on the set. “Dylan, if Vanessa was no longer the team’s owner, would that change things for you?”
Holy shit. Who was this woman? A one-woman wrecking ball?
“Come on, Chantel. You can’t ask a newly engaged man something like that.” He pulled me closer to him. “Look at her. She’s gorgeous. Smart. Gifted in so many ways. I didn’t ask her to marry me because of her last name. Let’s get that out there right now. No matter what happens, I’m going to play ball and I’m going to marry this woman. Got that?”
I stared at Dylan. I knew it was a charade. I knew we had concocted this entire story to save the Warriors, but I felt as if he had just saved me. He had rescued me from the hole in the floor that was swallowing me up, starting with my designer heels.
Chantel’s eyes widened. “Well, for my viewers, if you’re looking for a real-life love story, I think we’ve found it. We’ll be back with Vanessa and Dylan after this break. I want to hear all the wedding details.” She smiled.
The producer threw his hand forward and everyone broke their poses. The commercial break countdown clock started ticking overhead.
Dylan glared at her. “What the hell was that, Chantel?”
“This is Sports Now. I’m doing my job. That job includes asking important questions. We’re not at the hotel getting a drink while I’m in town for the night,” she seethed.
Oh shit. My eyes darted between them. She was jealous. Not just sideline jealous. She was scorned jealous. Dylan had slept with her some time in the past. I had no way of knowing how long ago.
“You two have history,” I eked.
Chantel’s eyes hardened. “Your fiancé has history with every woman he’s met. You knew that before you said yes, didn’t you?”
Just then Isaac strolled over. “Interesting interview.” His eyes were warm. I knew he was trying to reassure me, even though there was no way he could say anything.
“Maybe you’d want to switch seats with me, man?” Dylan joked.
I wished it were that easy—that I could interchange them whenever I wanted. Was that bad? Was that a terrible thought? They each gave me such different pleasure in bed, why wouldn’t it be the same when we were out of bed? I could lean on Isaac. I could count on Dylan to distract me. It made sense they complimented each other’s personalities, just like their sexual gifts did.
“Too hot for you?” Chantel quipped.
“No,” he shot back. “Just stick to the engagement news. Stop tearing down Vanessa.”
“I had no idea you could be attached to one woman.” She tilted her chin as the makeup artists assaulted Chantel’s high cheekbones with the powder brush. “Maybe you’re more the marrying kind than I realized.”
“Cut it out, Chantel,” Isaac barked. “You’re a better journalist than this. Show some class for God’s sake.”
“These are the producers’ questions.” She ruffled her notes in his face. “I have a job to do, and that sometimes means asking questions that are uncomfortable.”
“It’s fine.” I wanted to put an end to the bickering. “Chantel, ask me whatever you feel is necessary.”
Both men’s heads swiveled toward me at lightning speed. “I’ve got this,” I whispered.
She smiled, looking like one of the villainesses in a Disney movie. “See? Vanessa is fine with the questions.”
I didn’t want to give her any more fuel. The more we resisted, the harder she was going to push back. I just wanted to get to the floral arrangements and the colors of the bridesmaid dresses. Enough with the family drama questions.
24
Isaac
I stood behind the camera, watching the rest of the interview. Chantel let up after the first commercial break. She steered things toward the wedding planning and asked Vanessa questions like how she planned on balancing running a team and planning a wedding. I rolled my eyes, the more she tried to pin Vanessa into a corner.
I knew things about that woman the rest of the world couldn’t fathom. She was stronger than she looked. She was sweet. She was kind. She had been hurt. But she was brilliant and she was driven to do the right thing. It might be what I respected about her the most.
The Warriors may have an owner who didn’t know how to run a team, but no one else in the league had an owner who cared so much about getting it right. This girl was going to set the world on fire. We just had to give her time.
The lights dimmed and Dylan and Vanessa handed their mics back to the sound assistant.
“Thanks for coming in,” Chantel quipped.
“Of course. I hope you can make it to the wedding.” Vanessa smiled before walking off the stage. She swayed over to me.
It took everything in me, not to grab her in my arms and kiss the fuck out of her. She deserved it after what she had just been through.
“You think the rest of it was ok?” she asked.
“Yeah, baby. You did great.” My chest hurt. I wanted those pillowy lips. The only way that was going to happen was if we got out of here.
Dylan was still trying to put Chantel in her place. He was pissed she was such a bitch during the interview.
I drew Vanessa away from the scene. She had already figured out they had fucked. No need to hear it again.
“I have an idea.” I looked in her blue eyes. I could see how tired she was.
“What’s that? Does it involve a hot shower and a glass of wine?”
My cock twitched. Damn. The thought of fucking her in the shower was crippling.
“It definitely could.” I kept my voice low. The production staff was buzzing around us, taking down the set. “Why don’t you come back to the ranch for the night?” I offered. “I’ll make sure there’s plenty of wine and hot water.”
She bit her lip. “Dylan too?”
“Of course. He has a room there. The bastard shows up all hours of the night. I gave him a key so he can crash his drunk ass there.”
She nodded. “Yes, please. Can we go right now? If you have wine … and you … I need it.”
I held in the groan. She needed it? I fucking needed her. I wanted to hear her cry out. I wanted to watch her as he
“Let me get Dylan away from Chantel before she scratches his eyes out. Did you drive or did a car bring you?” I wanted to figure out the fastest way to get all of us to the ranch.
“I drove myself.”
“How about this? Dylan can drive you over?” I knew I couldn’t leave the station with her. Especially not with this many reporters in one place.
“Tell him to hurry,” she whispered. I saw the gleam in her eye.
“Done.”
I thought I might have more patience, but my cock didn’t.
As soon as Vanessa walked over the threshold of my ranch, I crashed my lips into hers. She threw her arms around my neck. I felt the diamond graze my neck.
I pushed her back. “Take the ring off,” I ordered.
“Why?” She looked confused.
Dylan followed us inside a few seconds later. He had parked her car inside the garage.
I reached for her hand. I wanted him to see it too.
“Out there, people might think you two belong together, but in here you’re ours.” I wiggled the diamond over her knuckle and off the tip of her finger. I placed it on the foyer table in a bowl made from Austin granite. “You’re mine too, baby. Understand? That ring doesn’t belong in my bed.”
She nodded. “I’m yours, Isaac.”
“Good.”
Dylan slammed the door. “What the fuck happened at that interview?”
I shook my head. “You should have warned everyone about Chantel.” I eyed him.
We all wandered into the kitchen. I’d made sure my house manager stocked the fridge and bar with plenty of wine for Vanessa. I had caseloads of Texas beer. I tossed one to Dylan. He twisted the top off.
“That was a long time ago. She has a boyfriend. I don’t know what the fuck her problem was.”
I showed Vanessa the different wines she had to choose from. She selected a white and smiled. “I like bubbles sometimes.”
I popped the cork off the bottle and poured a tall glass for her. It was some kind of Prosecco. I wondered if this was the gateway to me learning about wines.
She twirled to face Dylan. “Sometimes women just don’t like to see men with other women. It’s that simple.”
His eyes widened. “Really?”
She nodded. “Yep. That’s all it was. She was jealous.”
“Who the hell knew that,” he mused, chugging the beer.
“At least we got that over with.” Vanessa sat on the tall wooden bar stool. “I didn’t know where she was going with those questions. I was nervous. More nervous than I should have been with all that prep Steve did.”
I leaned against the counter, pressing my leg next to hers. “What was that shit about your brother?” I asked.
The beer was cold. I was going to need more than one tonight. I had no plan of us turning in early.
Vanessa sighed. “Danny isn’t coming back. It’s not anything you have to worry about.”
“Where is he?”
She played with the edge of her glass. “My half-brother is probably partying in Paris. Hong Kong? I can’t keep track anymore.”
“Are you kidding?” Dylan pulled up the seat next to her.
“No. He dropped out of college and started the Danny McCade world party tour. That was eight years ago. He went through his inheritance pretty quickly. I don’t know how much of it he has left.”
I rubbed the back of my head. “Shit, Vanessa. That’s crazy.”
“Did you say half-brother?” Dylan asked.
“Yeah. Same dad. Different moms.” She seemed nervous to look at us. “I never met Danny’s mom, or mine. We were the products of some quick romances my father had. At least that’s how my grandmother explained it.” She smiled nervously. “I know now that they bought us for exchange for their silence. My dad wasn’t exactly father material. I shouldn’t be surprised my brother is just like him.”
“You don’t know who your mother is?”
She shook her head. “No. And there’s no way to track her down. She could have been a waitress, maybe a Warriors dancer. There’s no telling. I used to pretend she was an artist and ran off to Paris to paint. It sounds better than telling people your mother was possibly a stripper.”
“Damn it, Vanessa. That’s messed up.”
“It is, but Danny lived the same life I did. If I could stick around and face it, why couldn’t he?”
“You don’t think he’s going to show up and want the Warriors?” Dylan asked. It was the first time I had seen him look worried through any of this.
“God no, but can we talk about something else?” she asked. “I don’t like talking about my brother. I shouldn’t have opened the McCade family vault. It’s dark in there. I’m sorry. Can we change the subject? Please? Anything. Tell me about practice. Distract me.”
I had a lot of misconceptions about the McCades. One, was that the money gave them everything they wanted. They lived in their billion-dollar compound, surrounded by servants and staff. They owned an incredible franchise. Another was that life must be easy for them. I honestly had no idea Vanessa’s brother was AWOL. Or that she had no idea who her mother was. It never occurred to me to care about corporate. I kept my head down and played ball.
But seeing the hurt flash in her eyes, I knew both of those things weren’t the case. There was a lot the McCade money hadn’t given her and her life had been anything but easy.
“Oh no. No more work talk.” I looked over her toward Dylan. “I think I promised you a hot shower. After today, you need it.”
He nodded. It was weird how we had this new way of communicating when it came to Vanessa. It was like we could read each other’s mind. I labeled it as our new fuck radar.
“Oh, yes. Just point me in the right direction.” She tilted her lips so she could drink the rest of the bubbly prosecco. “I’d love to try your shower.”
I took that as my cue. I lifted her in my arms.
“Isaac.” She looked at me, tilting her head in a way that made my heart race.
“We’re going to make sure you’re plenty hot and wet tonight.”
Her eyes rolled back. “Really?” she mewed.
I carried her to the back of the house where my master suite was. Dylan had started shedding clothes on the walk through the hall. He was naked by the time I lowered Vanessa’s feet on the tile floor.
I turned the water on to full heat, and pressed the steam button. Within seconds the steam was billowing over the tall towered glass walls of the shower. I’d had this place remodeled when I bought the ranch two years ago.
I pivoted, taking Vanessa’s mouth, while Dylan started to undress her. She moaned as he raked the clothes from her body. Her fingers worked the buttons on my shirt until they were unfastened.
I sucked the corners of her mouth, tasting the sweet wine on her tongue. My hands coasted over her shoulders to her breasts, twisting her tits between my fingers.
“Ohh,” she whimpered.
“Shower,” Dylan said, exhaling sharply.
I stepped out of my pants while he led her inside. The water ran over her gorgeous body. The droplets outlined the curves of her tits and the softness of her stomach. I dropped to my knees in front of her.
Her hands fingered through my hair, threading the water through the strands.
“Give me your pussy, baby.”
She looked in my eyes.
Dylan knelt behind her. As she rocked her hips forward my fingers splayed her velvety folds wide, exposing her glistening clit.
“Fuck.” I dove in, devouring her relentlessly.
“Oh Isaac.” She trembled as I flicked her clit, pushing my tongue in her pussy. I’d never tasted a woman like Vanessa. So ripe for me. So fucking eager to let me fuck her this way.
Dylan’s hands gripped her hips, sending her thrusts backward at a deeper angle. He rounded over her hips until he spread those sweet cheeks of hers.
I knew he had penetrated her ass when I heard the hiss from her lips turn to a groan of pleasure. It was the fucking hottest thing. She see-sawed between us as my tongue fucked her swollen pussy and she rode back on Dylan’s tongue. Back and forth, fucking our mouths. Grinding in our faces. Receiving pleasure on both sides. Abandoning her reservations. She was letting go—more than she had last night.
“Oh Dylan. Isaac. Shit. It’s too much. Stop. God, don’t stop. Don’t stop.”
She was wild and frantic. Her breath was ragged. I spread her lips wider, sinking my tongue as far as I could. I felt her squeeze and clamp down around me. I could only imagine how tight her asshole was for Dylan. Fuck. This was hot.
I let my eyes drift up. Her hands were twisting her nipples, contorting them as she started to take off from the orgasm.
“Oh fuck,” she screamed.
I watched in awe as she came undone between us. The juices flowed in my mouth like honey. I lapped and sucked every ounce of them. Damn, I loved going down on this girl.
She gulped for air as we slowly backed away, trying to give her a chance to catch her breath.
“Oh my God.” She looked at me then Dylan.
“Feel good?” I waggled my eyebrows.
She collapsed on Dylan’s chest. She nodded. “I don’t think I can move.”
I reached over Dylan’s shoulder for the soap. “You don’t have to. You got her, brother?”
He nodded. “Oh yeah.”
I brought my lips to her mouth, letting her taste how sweet her own juices were on my tongue. “We’ll help you get cleaned up before things get dirty again.”
She nodded. “So sweet.” She smiled sleepily, relaxed into Dylan’s hold.
“Now spread your legs, baby,” I commanded.
She had the most perfect wax job I’d ever seen. I ran my hand over her heat, admiring how clean and perfectly angled she was manicured.
“Ohh,” she sighed. “It’s so sore. But it’s a good pain.”
I rubbed between her thighs, taking the bubbles to her knees and down to her ankles. Every inch of her skin was beautiful. I didn’t think a more perfect woman existed.
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