Mistletoe Games

by Jaci Burton

  Alex grinned. “I’m ready to get started.”

  “You need some sleep. You know what the Pipeline can do to you. You don’t want to be caught half-asleep in a wave.”

  Tori stood. “That’s my cue to leave.”

  Alex stood, too. “I’ll walk you to your room.”

  “Try to be back in less than an hour, my man,” Ben said. “Nice to meet you, Victoria.”

  She laughed. “You, too, Ben.”

  They left the room and Alex linked his fingers with hers. Her room was just down the hall and around the corner, so it wasn’t a long walk.

  She slipped her card key in the door and turned to Alex. “You didn’t have to walk me, you know.”

  He held the door open for her. “Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I let a lady walk herself home?”

  “I’d invite you in, but Ben is right. If the competition starts tomorrow, you should probably rest.”

  “I probably should,” he said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. “But I feel like we barely got started before we were interrupted.”

  She pushed him against the door this time and fisted her hands in his shirt. “I don’t want to wear you out.”

  He wrapped an arm around her and let his fingers trail down her back, giving her butt a gentle squeeze. “I’d like you to try your best.”

  His lips met hers in a kiss that stole her breath. She felt a moment of guilt, knowing she should have just said good night, but she still wanted him. His instant erection told her he reciprocated the need and desire that had welled up inside her.

  Her clit throbbed and she knew she was going to get another orgasm before she went to sleep tonight.

  “Come on. Let’s go to the bedroom and try it in there,” she said, taking him by the hand.

  “Why? Do you have an unexpected roommate planning to show up?”

  She laughed. “No. But I thought I might climb on your cock and fuck you.”

  “You have great ideas, Tori.”

  She turned and smiled at him as she led him into the bedroom. She’d left the sliding glass door to the balcony open. Moonlight streamed in, casting a silver glow onto the bed. Just the right amount of light.

  “Why don’t you get naked and climb on the bed?”

  He gave her a sexy half smile. “Good plan.” He drew his shirt off, dropped his shorts, and flopped onto the middle of her bed, propping the pillows up so he could lean against them. He waved a condom in his hand. She grinned.

  “I love a man who’s prepared.”

  She drew the zipper down on her dress, then pulled it off, leaving her in only her underwear.

  “Did I mention earlier how sexy you are?” he asked.

  “Yes. And thank you.” She popped the clasp on her bra, pulled it off, and tossed it to the side, cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples before slowly drawing her panties down.

  “And how hot and tight your pussy is?”

  “You didn’t mention that, but I also love your cock. You made me come so hard. Let’s see if you can do it again.”

  His eyes gleamed with desire as she crawled onto the foot of the bed, making her way toward him.

  “Why don’t you take that condom out, slide it over your cock, and let me sit on you.”

  In record time, he was sheathed. She climbed up his legs, though honestly, she could have stood at the foot of the bed and just watched him. His legs wide, his cock erect, there was an air of confidence in his nudity that was so sexy. She rested on his thighs and splayed her fingers across his chest, enjoying the powerful feel of all that muscle.

  At least until he dragged her forward, thrust his hand in her hair, and kissed her, stealing her breath. She moaned as his tongue slid between her lips, her body more than ready to take him on.

  After he thoroughly kissed her, she pulled away, braced one hand on his chest, and lowered herself onto his cock.

  “That’s it,” he said, caressing her thigh.

  She raised her gaze to his, making eye contact as she seated herself on him.

  “Oh, that’s good.” He fit her perfectly, her pussy clenching around him like a fist. She moved forward and his eyes went half-lidded as he reached for her breasts, cupping them and brushing her nipples with his thumbs. A rocket of pleasure shot to her clit.

  She knew sex with Alex was going to be good, but she was already ridiculously close to another orgasm. She lifted, caught her breath, then eased back down on him again, needing to prolong the ecstasy as long as she possibly could.

  She leaned forward, dangling her breasts near his mouth. He took one, slid a nipple between his lips while she braced her hands on the headboard.

  She fucked him while he sucked the bud, the sensation maddening. She already knew he had a magical tongue, and he flicked it around one nipple, then let go and grabbed the other.

  “That’s going to make me come.” She pulled back.

  He grinned and grabbed her hips. “Isn’t that the idea?”

  “Not yet. I don’t want to come yet. Fucking you feels so good.”

  He reached for her hips and dragged her forward. “But you feel so good when you come on my cock. Your pussy squeezes me.”

  He took her breath away. She raked her nails down his chest, then rocked forward, grinding herself against him as her climax rushed toward her. “Oh, I’m coming.”

  She arched back and he held her as she shuddered and let go. He thrust into her and she heard him groan with his own orgasm while she was wracked with spasms that sent her over the edge again and again.

  Spent, she fell forward, resting on his chest, listening to the rapid thump of his heartbeat until it settled along with hers.

  When she withdrew, he grinned up at her. She went into the bathroom and slipped on her robe while Alex got dressed.

  “Preliminaries are tomorrow,” he said as he put on his shirt. “Will you be there?”

  “Sure. I’ll come by.”

  “I’ll leave a pass for you so you can get a good seat in the viewing area.”

  “Thanks.” She walked him to the door and he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her. “Get some sleep.”

  After he left, she locked her door and went back into the bedroom, smiling as she took in her messed-up sheets. Her body fluttered in response.

  It was going to be a great vacation.

  FIVE

  Despite being on vacation, Tori was unable to sleep in. Her body clock was always set to six a.m., and there was nothing she could do to change it. Years of conditioning had trained her body to wake at that time, and even a time zone change couldn’t alter it. Her body just instinctively knew when it was six in the morning, no matter where in the world she happened to be.

  Ugh. Damned traitorous piece-of-shit internal body clock.

  She flopped around in bed for hours, determined to master her own universe. Just once she’d like to be decadent and sleep until eight or even nine—in her vacation time zone.

  But no. She was wide-awake.

  Admitting defeat, she grabbed her phone and looked at the time.

  Ugh. She got up, threw on some clothes, and went for a run on the beach. She longed for the peace and quiet, the sounds of the ocean, the energy a run could provide. It centered her, giving her time to be alone with her thoughts. Maybe she could replay last night’s events in her head. That should put a smile on her face and set the tone for the day.

  But apparently not this morning, because it wasn’t peaceful, wasn’t quiet, and there would be no alone time. They were already setting up for the competition. She hadn’t made it a mile before she ran into a brick wall of tents and announcers and people already setting up spots on the beach for viewing.

  She stopped and caught her breath, surveying the setup, which was pretty impressive. Viewing stands had seemingly been erected
overnight, there were tents for drinks and food, and a shaded, private area for both judges and announcers. She glanced over at the announcer’s area, but didn’t see Alex’s roommate, Ben.

  “Looking for me?”

  She pivoted. Ben had come up behind her, obviously on a run of his own. Sweat dripped down his arms and neck and along his naked torso. For a guy in his forties, he was ripped as hell, with an impressive six-pack and lean muscle in all the right places.

  “Actually, I was out on my run but was stopped by this wall of event mania.”

  He looked over her shoulder, then back at her, gracing her with a thousand-watt smile. “Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it?”

  “It’s formidable. Are the events always this spectacle-inducing?”

  “Not all of them, but this is one of the bigger ones. It draws a huge crowd. The tubes are awe-inducing. Wait till you see them.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Would you like something to drink?” he asked, leading her toward the vendor tents.

  “A juice would be great.”

  He flashed the ID badge clipped to his shorts and security let them pass. The tent was cool and Tori breathed out a sigh of relief. It was going to be a warm day. She’d have to make sure to wear her hat if she was going to be sitting out in the sun watching the surfers.

  Ben grabbed an orange juice for each of them, then directed her to a couple canvas chairs. She took a seat and a couple swallows of juice.

  “Where’s Alex?” she asked.

  “In one of the competition booths, signing papers and listening to the jargon about all the rules. Standard stuff all the competitors have to go through.”

  She leaned back in the chair and gave Ben a quick glance. He was such a handsome man with his dark hair, his tan, and his incredible smile. He had a natural ease about him she found very attractive. Too bad she couldn’t handle more than one man at a time. Besides, she typically never dated men her own age or older—they were too into commitment and that wasn’t her style. Younger men were always more free-spirited and much easier to let go of.

  “You competed before?” she asked.

  “Yes, but it’s been a while.”

  “Injury, or tired of the surfing lifestyle?”

  He laughed. “Once a surfer, always a surfer. I hurt my back on a bad wave about ten years ago, resulting in the need for surgery. That was the end of my competitive surfing.”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what it would be like to not be able to do what you love.”

  He shrugged. “I got over it.”

  “That’s such a simplistic statement. It sucked, didn’t it?”

  He gave her a direct look that told her he was surprised she understood. “You’re right. It did suck. For a long time.”

  “Like years?”

  “Yeah.”

  She sipped her juice. “I’ll bet you were a pain in the ass to live with for a while.”

  He let out a laugh. It was deep and filled with a dark, husky tone that made her tighten in places that had no business tightening considering her sex-a-thon with Alex last night.

  “I was an unlikeable prick for about two years. Felt sorry for myself. Thought my life was over.”

  “I think you were due a pity party. If it were me, I might have taken another year or so.”

  “So what you’re saying is I have another year coming?”

  She laughed. “Sorry. No retro do-overs. You screwed up. Now that you’ve manned up and gotten over it, your complaining days are over.”

  “Too bad. I really enjoyed the drug and alcohol binges.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “The pain pills were fine for a while, but eventually the doctor put a stop to them. I used alcohol to dull the pain after that. It got pretty ugly.”

  “Did you have to go to rehab?”

  “No. I never got that bad. I only drank at night so I could sleep, so at least I didn’t become an all-day drunk. Couldn’t stand myself after a while, and realized no one else could stand me either, so I cleaned myself up and rejoined the living.”

  She smiled at him. “You look pretty okay to me. Glad you found your way back from the dark side.”

  “Thanks. It was good for me, actually. Nothing like a long hard bout of feeling sorry for yourself to make you realize your life really isn’t over.”

  “I deal with that with a lot of athletes, who often have very short careers.”

  “I imagine being an agent is more than just negotiating contracts and fielding offers for commercials. You also have to teach them about investing in their future, just in case an injury sidelines them, or even worse, kills their career sooner than they think.”

  She nodded, appreciating that he was so perceptive. So many people didn’t “get” what she did for a living, and thought she sailed around the country romancing prospects, having them sign on the dotted line, then rushing off to snare a new conquest. Her job wasn’t all big paychecks and sharing the spotlight with high-paid sports stars. It was a hell of a lot of work, and often a great deal of frustration.

  “You’re exactly right. A lot of these young kids think they’re superheroes, that nothing bad will ever happen to them. One catastrophic injury and they’re out of the game in an instant. I advise them to invest their money well, and to have a fallback plan for when their careers do end, because the large majority of them won’t be in the game for as long as they think they will.”

  He tilted his head. “You’re very smart.”

  She laughed. “And that surprises you?”

  “Not at all. But it probably surprises many of your clients. I wish I’d had an agent like you when I was younger. You do realize a lot of them are out to make as much money as they can from their clients for as long as they can, and they don’t give a shit about their clients’ welfare.”

  “Sadly, I do know. There are many unscrupulous agents out there, but there are just as many who care about their clients’ welfare. You obviously had one of the bad ones.”

  He finished his juice and made a perfect toss into the nearby recycling container. “Which is why I’m not retired and living on a beach somewhere, whiling away my days in a hammock.”

  “Awww, too bad. You have to work like the rest of us poor suckers.”

  “Yeah, my life is a living hell.” He graced her with a wicked grin that made the female parts of her quiver.

  She had no business quivering over Ben Reynolds. He wasn’t at all her type. Which didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy his company. He was smart and engaging, and after all, she was on vacation.

  She broke a lot of rules while on vacation.

  “Somehow I don’t think your life is all that bad, Ben.”

  “I’m not complaining. I still get to travel, still get to attend all the surfing events, and I still don’t have to pay for them, since my company foots the bill.”

  “That doesn’t sound like such a bad life to me.”

  He stood, and she did, too. “It’s a great life. Being as good a surfer as I was, I’ve learned to spot real talent. And when I do, I make sure I put my logo on their boards and their suits. They make me money. It’s a pretty sweet deal.”

  “Sounds like your life is just where you want it to be.”

  He led her outside, and she was surprised by how many people had shown up in the short time they’d been inside the tent.

  The smell of something cooking made her stomach growl. She laid her hand there.

  “I think I’ll go grab some breakfast. I rolled out of bed this morning for a run and haven’t even had a cup of coffee yet.”

  “Me, either. Come have breakfast with me, and then I’ll get you a prime seat for the morning practice runs.”

  She shook her head. “Thank you, but I need a shower first, and it’s going to be hot as hell today.
My hat is in my room. I’ll need to gear up if I’m going to spend the day in the heat.”

  “You can sit in the tent area with me, out of the sun. Go take your shower. I’ll still buy you breakfast. Stop at the registration desk. I’ll leave you a pass for all the competition events and private areas.”

  She wanted to decline. No, that wasn’t true. She should say no. She wanted to say yes. She liked spending time with Ben.

  She also liked spending time with Alex, whose touch made her tingle in unexpected, delightful ways.

  But Ben was Alex’s friend, and he’d offered breakfast, not sex.

  “Okay. Thank you. I’ll be back in about forty-five minutes.”

  “Great. I’ll be at the far end of the tented areas, the one with the Surf Hot logo.”

  He pointed, and she nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

  * * *

  Ben watched Victoria jog off, his lips curving as he admired her long legs and great ass.

  It was really too bad Alex had met her first. She was beautiful and intelligent and the kind of woman he’d love to spend time with.

  Plus, he couldn’t help but focus on her mouth. He had a thing about a woman’s mouth, and Victoria had a full bottom lip that begged to be tugged on.

  His cock tightened. He finally tore his gaze away from her retreating form, searching the ocean for Alex.

  He found him sitting beyond the waves and talking with a few of the other competitors. Even from a distance, Ben read the ease that Alex had with the board and the waves. The one thing Ben had always liked about Alex was his instincts. He knew when the right wave would come along, and when the wrong time was to drop in on one.

  Ben would give anything to be out there, ready to catch one of the tubes. Dangerous to be riding the Pipeline, but he could still remember the adrenaline rush of dropping down into a wave of overpowering size and mastering it.

  It might have been a lot of years since he’d ridden competitively, but the urge had never died. He clenched his fingers into his palm, sucked in a deep breath, then released it.

  Give it up. It’s over. It’s been over and you’re never going to ride the big waves again.