Fast Break (Texas Titans Holiday)

by Cheryl Douglas

  He was kind of embarrassed by his opulent home, so much so that he’d never hosted a company party there, though Trena had suggested it several times. She loved to “show off” their digs. He, on the other hand, would have been more comfortable somewhere less ostentatious.

  “Am I to assume you’d never consider living there?” he asked, smirking. “You know, down the road, if things work out the way I hope they will.”

  “Uh, no offense, Kev. But most women don’t want to move into a home their husband or boyfriend shared with his wife.” She shuddered. “Just being with you there felt kind of weird.”

  He could understand her position. He wouldn’t even want to set foot in the home she shared with her husband. “Fair enough. I’ll let you pick the house.”

  She set the plate of bread down before her hand covered his. “You know I’m crazy about you, but I meant what I said last night, we can’t rush into anything. I need to take this slow. That means we maintain separate residences for the foreseeable future. And overnight dates won’t be the norm either. Last night was an exception because Ainsley was with Aunt Bella.”

  “Babe,” he said, grasping her wrist, “I understand how you feel about not confusing Ainsley, but I’m not going home to that empty bed every night, not when I could be with you instead.” Hauling her into his lap, he nuzzled her neck. “If that makes me unreasonable or selfish, so be it. But that beautiful little girl of yours is going to have to get used to sharing her mama eventually, ’cause I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay and she needs to know that.”

  Bree wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m not asking you to take a vow of celibacy. Obviously we’ll have to work something out.” She shifted in his lap, blushing when she realized he was aroused. “Um, what about dinner?”

  Food was the last thing on his mind. “Later. Much, much later. Right now I want you. I don’t suppose you want to go upstairs?”

  “There’s a pull-out couch in the family room,” she said, grazing his ear with her lips. “And there’s pocket doors. That might give us a little more privacy.”

  “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

  Chapter Nine

  Bree didn’t expect the day to end the same way it began, in Kevin’s arms, but looking down at him as her body covered his, she realized she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

  Her stomach had been tied up in knots all day as she waited to hear from him. Now that he was here, she felt like she could finally breathe again.

  Easing down slowly, she watched intently as ecstasy stole over his face. Barely moving, her senses were heightened. She could feel him pulsing inside of her, the bite of his fingers digging into her hips, the blend of cologne mixed with his natural musk filtering through the air to arouse her. Their eyes fused as she slowly began to move.

  Bracing her hands on his shoulders, a sense of urgency drove her. She was making up for the years they’d lost, the years they would never get back. Images flashed through her mind as she made love to him: stolen kisses, whispered promises, and plans for a future they’d yet to realize. But they were getting a second chance, a new beginning, and this time she wouldn’t let anyone rob them of the life they deserved.

  “You’re incredible.” He swung her into the circle of his arms, shifting their positions.

  Bree quickly realized their bodies were fusing in a way they never had before. As kids, they’d made love countless times, but this was deeper, bigger, and stronger than either of them. Sex had always been shrouded with uncertainty before, even last night, but this time was different. They were saying with their bodies what they hadn’t yet said with words: this represents forever.

  His fiery open-mouthed kisses made her tremble. Her body thrummed with the spark he’d ignited, causing her to spasm uncontrollably, gasping, begging for mercy, yet imploring him not to stop.

  “You’re it for me, Bree.” He fisted his hands on either side of her head as she slowly descended the massive wall he’d helped her scale.

  A tear snuck down her cheek as she felt his words lift her spirit. They were so much more than words. They were a vow. A promise. An assurance. They made her feel safe, loved, appreciated, respected, everything she’d ever wanted… from this man. He was the only one who could make her feel this way and the very reason she’d finally found her way home.

  She felt adrift, free, as she gave herself over to the experience. There was no one else in the world. No schedules to manage or problems to conquer. Just this feeling of complete and total bliss as he claimed her body and soul.

  The weight of his warm body covering hers felt amazing and she never wanted the feeling to end, but she could tell when he reached the brink even before the burst of warmth flooded her. She could feel it in the tense bunching of his rippling muscles, hear it in the ragged breaths that seemed trapped in his throat, sense it in the way his heart battered hers.

  “I love you,” she whispered in his ear.

  “Hmm, not as much as I love you, angel.”

  * * *

  Kevin didn’t want to go home. He wanted to hold her all night, wake up with her in the morning, enjoy coffee and breakfast together. Maybe even drop Bree at the shop and Ainsley at school on his way to the office. He wanted it all and he wanted it now.

  Patience had never been his strong suit, and his love for Bree made it nearly impossible to wait for their new life together to begin. “Why don’t you come in to the office tomorrow? I’ll introduce you to David, get him started on your case.”

  Rolling onto her back, she stared up at the ceiling. “I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe I should wait until after the holidays. I’m pretty busy right now. Besides, it seems like a lousy thing to do, springing something like that on someone right before the holidays.”

  Propping his head in one hand, he looked down at her. “You don’t owe him anything, Bree. After the way he treated you, he’s getting what he deserves. No, I take that back. He deserves a hell of a lot worse for putting his hands on you that way, but at least this will send him the right message. He can’t win you back. Sober or not, it’s over, right?”

  Her hesitation made his gut clench. “Am I right?”

  “Of course, it’s over.” She gestured to the rumpled sheets on the pull-out. “We just made love. You think I could have done that if I thought there was a chance we’d reconcile?”

  He knew Bree wasn’t capable of cheating, so in her mind, the marriage was already over, probably had been since the day Lyle hit her, but Kevin would feel better when it was official in the eyes of the court.

  “No, but…”

  She rolled onto her side, resting her hand on his chest. “You know how I feel about you. You know I want a future with you. But this has to be my decision. I can’t let you decide when it’s time for me to end my marriage, sweetheart. I just can’t.”

  He didn’t want this disagreement to escalate into another fight, but it frustrated him that she was dragging her heels on this. “He needs to know it’s over,” he said, settling his hand on her flat stomach. “He needs to know you’ve moved on, with me.”

  “He knows all about you, Kev. Believe me.” She closed her eyes. “I told him about you shortly after we met. He asked if I’d ever had any serious relationships, anyone in my past I found it difficult to get over. He was insanely jealous of you, even though we hadn’t had contact in years.”

  “What do you mean?” He couldn’t deny it pleased him to know Lyle considered him a threat, even when he wasn’t.

  “He hated that I was still friends with Rennie because he knew she was your sister-in-law. Every time I came home to visit my aunt, he insisted on coming with me. I think he was afraid I’d see you while I was here.”

  “Did you ever think about calling me?” he asked, absently brushing his fingers through her hair. “Ever tempted to see me again?”

  “Of course those thoughts ran through my head,” she said, playfully nudging him with her elbow. “I’m only human. But I
never would’ve acted on it. You were married, so was I.”

  “Hmmm.” He wondered how he would have reacted if she had contacted him. He’d never messed around on his wife, but he couldn’t deny he would have been sorely tempted by Bree. “But here we are now,” he said, kissing her hand. “On the verge of being single again, free to pursue this… thing between us.”

  She opened one eye to look at him. “This thing between us? How romantic.”

  He chuckled. “You know what I mean.”

  “Not really.”

  “Where do you see this going?” he asked, needing to hear her vision for their future, if for no other reason than to put his mind at ease.

  “I don’t know. Where do you see this going?”

  “Not fair, I asked you first.” He laughed when she stuck her tongue out at him. “I’m serious. Marriage? More kids?”

  She turned on her side to face him. “When I left Lyle, I couldn’t even imagine dating again, much less getting married. But then I couldn’t have imagined getting a second chance with you back then.”

  “Now that we do have a second chance,” he said, running a hand over her shoulder and down her arm. “What do you propose we do with it?”

  She wet her lips before mumbling, “I could see us getting married someday.”

  He knew it was difficult for her to go there, so he rewarded her with a quick kiss. “And kids? Do you want to have more?”

  “I do.” She smiled. “I love being a mom. Ainsley is, by far, the best thing that’s ever happened to me. How about you? Do you want more children?”

  He’d been happy with one child while he was married to Trena. He didn’t have the desire to grow their family since he was so busy with his career, and since she didn’t express an interest, he assumed she was happy with the status quo too. But it was different with Bree. He couldn’t wait to make a baby with her, to see a little person running around who was the perfect blend of the two of them, a product of their love.

  “Yeah, definitely.”

  “We’re not getting any younger, you know.” Her eyes darkened when she said, “There are inherent risks for women who get pregnant over the age of thirty-five. I know plenty of women are getting pregnant at my age, but I want to have the stamina to be the kind of mom I’ve been to Ainsley.”

  Curling his hand over her hip, he flashed her a quick grin. “I guess that means time is of the essence then, huh? We can’t really afford to wait all that long, after all. Which works for me, believe me.”

  She laughed as she slapped his chest. “You won’t quit, will you?”

  He kissed her hand. “Not until you’re mine, officially.”

  “I’m already yours.” She kissed him to punctuate her point. “Baby, you need to go now,” she said, stealing a quick glimpse at her watch. “It’s not that I want you to, but—”

  “It’s okay,” he said, throwing his legs over the side of their makeshift bed. “I get it.” Looking at her over his shoulder, he said, “Let me take you and Ainsley out for dinner tomorrow night. Please?”

  She considered it for a minute before she said, “Okay, but it’ll have to be fairly early, since I like to have Ainsley in bed by eight on school nights.”

  “I’ll pick you girls up at six. Does that work for you?”

  Bree frowned. “Can you really afford to leave the office that early?”

  Kevin knew he was going to have to change his lifestyle to make this relationship work. He wanted to make time for Bree and her daughter, and there was no time like the present to start adjusting his schedule. “I can and I will.” Kissing her softly, he whispered, “Don’t you know by now that I’d do anything for you?”

  * * *

  Bree and Ainsley were sitting at the table the next morning, enjoying breakfast, when she decided to broach the subject she knew she couldn’t put off any longer. “Do you remember my friend, Kevin, honey? You met him at Thanksgiving.”

  “Sure,” Ainsley said, spooning Cheerios into her mouth. “What about him?”

  “He wants to take us out for dinner tonight. Would you like that?” Bree watched her daughter’s face carefully, looking for any signs of uncertainty or distress.

  “Where?” she asked, shrugging.

  She knew Ainsley was probably hoping for Chuck E Cheese, but suspected Kevin had something a little nicer in mind. “Um, I’m not sure, sweetie. The point is Kevin wants to take us out for dinner because he wants to spend time with us and would like to get to know you better.”

  “Why?”

  Bree didn’t expect this to go off without a hitch. Her daughter was too inquisitive. “Well, Kevin and I were very close when we were young and—”

  “Was he your boyfriend?” Ainsley asked, giggling.

  At least she wasn’t crying or pouting. That had to be a good sign. “As a matter of fact, he was.” She hadn’t intended to reveal the nature of their past relationship to her daughter, but she refused to lie to her.

  “Is he now?” Ainsley asked, her eyebrows puckering in confusion.

  Bree touched her daughter’s shoulder, thinking how ill-equipped she felt to handle this. She was trying to give Ainsley safety and security, instead she was giving her cause to question everything. Damn it, maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe she should just call Kevin and tell him it was too soon to bring their children into the mix.

  “It’s okay, Mama,” she said, sighing. “I know Daddy has a girlfriend too.”

  Bree stared at her daughter in stunned silence. “How do you know that? He told you?” She wouldn’t be devastated to learn Lyle had moved on, just surprised, especially since he’d made so many attempts to bridge the gap between them.

  “Nu-uh,” Ainsley said, shaking her head. “I saw ’em.”

  “You saw them?” Bree asked, slowly. “When? We haven’t been back since we left.”

  “It was before,” she said, spooning cereal into her mouth.

  “Before?” Bree hated pumping her little girl for information about Lyle’s indiscretions, but she had to know. “When?”

  “A bit before we moved out.” She looked down at the table, her fingertip drawing circles in the scared wood. “You weren’t home. Papa was watchin’ me and Daddy came home late…”

  “It’s okay, sweetheart,” Bree said, softly. “You know you can tell me anything. I won’t be mad.”

  “I looked out the window when I heard a car. Some lady was droppin’ him off.”

  “A lady?” She’d accused Lyle of being a lot of things over the years, but she’d never had cause to believe he was unfaithful.

  “Yeah, I saw him kiss her.” Her eyes widened. “It was like a real kiss, not a little kiss.”

  It wasn’t difficult to guess what Ainsley meant by a real kiss. That son of a… “Did you ask him about it, sweetie?”

  “Yeah, he said she was just a friend.”

  “A friend, huh?” Bree downed the rest of her coffee. “Well, we better get you off to school and I have to go to work.”

  “Mama, are you sad?”

  “No, baby,” Bree said, ruffling her daughter’s blond waves. “I’m not sad, just a little surprised is all.” Floored would be a more accurate description, but Ainsley didn’t need to know that. At least now she knew what she had to do. It was time to end this farce of a marriage once and for all.

  “I’d like to go out with your friend,” Ainsley said, reaching for her pink backpack. “If you still wanna?”

  “I do,” Bree said, smiling. “I think it’ll be fun.”

  Chapter Ten

  Kevin was pleasantly surprised when his receptionist announced Bree was there to see him. He was swamped, preparing for a deposition, but he’d always make time for her. “Hey, baby,” he said, rounding the desk to meet her. “This is a nice surprise.”

  “I’m so sorry to just show up like this,” she said, gesturing helplessly to his desk, stacked high with reference materials. “I know how busy you are.”

  “It’s okay.” He stroke
d her face, noting she looked agitated. “What happened? Did your talk with Ainsley not go as you’d hoped? If we need to wait a little longer, I’m fine with that. There’s no reason to get upset.”

  “It’s not that.” She stepped into his arms, holding him tight. “I just… needed to see you.”

  He could tell something had happened to rattle her, but he didn’t want to push. “What is it, Bree?” he asked, stroking her hair. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I found out Lyle was seeing someone else while we were still together.” She stepped out of his arms, shaking her head as she walked around him. “I was so concerned about his feelings. I didn’t want to initiate divorce proceedings because I didn’t want him to have a setback. He seemed to be doing so well with his sobriety. Well, screw him. I want a divorce, the sooner the better.”

  Kevin knew he had to tread carefully. He was selfishly happy she was ready to end her marriage, but he could tell she was still hurt by her husband’s infidelity, which raised a red flag for him. Was she still in love with Lyle? Is that why she seemed so upset?

  Coming up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. How’d you find out?”

  “Ainsley told me,” she said, clenching her fists. “Can you believe that? My daughter saw her father kissing some other woman outside of our house!”

  “Have you confronted him about it?” Kevin knew she would need closure before she could move on, but he didn’t relish the idea of her having anything more to do with that loser.

  “No, why would I?” She shook her head, a disgusted expression pinching her features. “I know him. He’d just deny it. He’s an expert at that.”

  “So where do you go from here?” She’d alluded to divorce, but he didn’t want to be the one to get the ball rolling. He knew that had to be her decision.

  “That’s why I’m here,” she said, resting her head against his chest. “You said there’s someone here who might be able to help me? I was wondering if I could set up an appointment with him?”