by Debra Kayn
“Damn it, get over here, sweetheart,” he said, pointing to the ground at his hidden feet.
She covered her mouth and smiled stupidly. He was bossy and she loved him because he expected her to listen to him. She began walking, unable to turn down such a request.
The crowd parted at Bruce’s demand, which made her laugh, and she dropped her hand from her mouth. She gazed at Bruce, feeling like she hadn’t seen him in a year, instead of yesterday, and knowing she’d do anything in her power to make sure she never missed another day with him.
Bruce jumped down from the judge’s table he was standing on, and hooked her neck with his hand, drawing her closer. He kissed her hot and heavy, and she lost her breath. Clutching his arms, she opened her mouth and received a small taste of him in return.
The fans surrounding them clapped. She pulled her lips away, and face planted in his chest, embarrassed she’d taken him away from his people. Yet, unashamed that right now, she couldn’t muster up any guilt for taking his attention. Bruce’s hand went down her arm, over her wrist, and he twined his fingers with hers. She followed along as he led her toward the water. When he stopped at the water’s edge and picked her up, she threw her arms around his neck, unquestioningly. She’d go anywhere with him and trusted him completely.
“Coldwell,” Dwayne said, running up to them. “Get back to the judges’ table. They’re going to announce the winner and dammit, you need to be there.”
Bruce sat Crista in the boat, walked back the few feet to the shore, pulled back his fist, and punched his manager. Crista careened forward and caught herself on the bow of the boat. Shocked, she could only stare at Dwayne lying in the sand, holding his jaw.
“You’re fired,” Bruce said.
Dwayne shook his head and blinked. “What for?”
“What you said to Crista got back to me a split second after it happened. You ever blame Crista for interrupting my life again and you’ll be doing more than picking yourself off the sand,” Bruce said. “She comes first, always.”
“Okay.” Dwayne struggled to get his feet under him. “Fine. I’ll remember that.”
Bruce flexed his fingers on his right hand. “I’ll have the final check for your services mailed to you tonight.”
“Wait.” Dwayne stumbled and righted himself. “I apologize. We can work this out.”
Bruce shook his head. “If it was me you were dealing with, you’d get a second shot. But you’re dealing with Crista, and I won’t put up with you ever making her doubt her place in my life. We’re finished.”
Oh. My. God. Crista sat down on the bench in the boat. She was both appalled and screaming silently in joy. No one had ever defended her honor or punched someone out to protect her.
Bruce turned around and walked through the water to catch the boat that had slowly drifted away from shore. He gathered the loose rope and tossed it inside the bow and then jumped inside with her.
“Uh, Bruce … ” She shifted closer to him, staying on the rocking seat. “Thank you, but you need to stay and finish the judging.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Sweetheart, I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do.”
She sucked in her bottom lip and bit down. God, he was sexy.
The microphone squelched. She laid her hand on Bruce’s leg, and he paused. She turned her gaze to the judges standing by the long line of bass strung up on the scales and marked with fluorescent marker tabs.
An older man tapped the mic. “We’re proud to announce the champion for this year’s Moses Lake Tournament, representing the entire Northwest Bass fisherman title is … reigning champion, Bruce Coldwell, with a thirty-one-and-a-half inch—”
“Are you ready now?” Bruce squeezed her hand. “Because I don’t need all these people around when I want to kiss you … and I’m not talking about the way I kissed you back on shore in front of everyone.”
She inhaled swiftly, pleasure swirling around in her stomach. She nodded, desperate for that kiss. “I’ll go anywhere with you.”
Bruce paused and studied her. Then he tilted back his head and laughed. The sound curled her toes and she held on for the ride out onto the lake. “Promise me one thing,” she yelled over the roar of the motor.
“What?” he mouthed.
“Promise me we can talk first.” She scrunched up her nose. “What I have to say is important, and if you touch me, I’ll forget what I was going to say.”
He winked and sped up the boat. She gazed out over the water and hoped that what she had to tell him would make sense. There was always the chance that he wouldn’t understand. Or in his overconfident way, he’d see her insecurities as a weakness.
Chapter Twenty
The boat drifted in the middle of the lake after Bruce cut the engine. Crista swiped the stray hair off her cheek and gazed around the area. No one was out on the lake.
The other boats were still lined up along the shore, and the crowd remained behind to inspect the fish that were caught by the professionals, talk to the athletes, and get autographs from their favorite fisherman and fisherwoman. Crista finally had Bruce to herself.
Bruce sat across from her on the bench and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. She ogled his broad, bare chest, his long shorts clinging to his tanned legs, the tan she knew cut off low on his hips and began again above his knees. She’d teased him about his outdoorsman tan for years and the paleness of his thighs that never saw daylight. Not any longer because the absolute adorableness of a man who fished for a living was sexy, tan marks and all.
He was more sexy than she’d ever imagined, and whatever he did and the more she discovered the little intricacies about him—namely, the way he battled for her—endeared him to her even more.
“You wanted to talk … ” He tilted his head, bringing her attention back to his face. “I’ll admit that I don’t feel like talking because it doesn’t matter what went on in your head—you’re here, with me, where you belong.”
She melted. “It matters to me, though.”
“Fair enough,” he said, rubbing his hands along his thighs. “What’s on your mind?”
“First off, you shouldn’t have punched and fired your manager. Showing up here today and causing you trouble, not to mention my pushing you away from me in Cali, was my fault, and Dwayne had a right to be upset. Your career comes first, and I—I made a huge mistake and it could’ve cost you the tournament,” she said.
He shook his head. “It’s more than that, sweetheart. I won’t allow anyone to upset you or put you second in my life. If that’s an issue that’s going to come between us, I’m afraid I won’t budge.”
“No, I like it, I think. I’ve never had someone who was willing to put me first before,” she said. “I’m finding out a lot about myself, though, and not all of it’s good. That’s why I asked you to leave yesterday morning. I’m so sorry. I should’ve told you what was bothering me, but at the time, I was hurt. My whole world blew up over a stupid phone call, and all I can do to excuse what I did is tell you at that moment it was the most painful feeling I’d ever experienced.”
He scooted forward and sprawled his hands on her bare thighs. “I’m not following you. What phone call?”
She thought about ending the conversation and retreating back to being the strong woman she portrayed to everyone who knew her, even Bruce. She even thought about omitting how Janelle made her feel because she detested how she lowered herself to worry about another woman. But the truth would get in the way of them moving forward, eventually. The threat could come as one of his fans, one of her friends, and Bruce had people in his life who loved him.
“I went out for a ride happy and feeling loved. You prepared ahead of time for me to have a phone on me, and even though I usually find your overbearing and protective tendencies a little irritating, I realized I quite liked how getting the phone made me feel.” She waited to see if he’d say anything and when he remained quiet and listening, she continued. “I was almost
at the end of my ride, and I got a flat tire. It happens all the time, but this time, I’d forgotten to pack the spare in my frame. For the first time, I learned the benefits of having a phone with me.”
“That’s what it was all about,” Bruce said, thrumming his thumb along her skin. “I only want you to be safe.”
She nodded. “I called you the morning I got the flat.”
He frowned and the lines at the corner of his eyes intensified. She inhaled deeply. Her confession wasn’t about making him feel bad. She had to come clean.
“I phoned my apartment because I knew you’d be there, and Janelle answered the phone.” She moistened her lips. “I found out that you’d asked her over and that you were too busy to come to the phone … at least that’s what Janelle told me. My mixed thoughts collided together over hearing her voice, and yours in the background, and I knew that you’d picked Janelle over me the first chance you got.”
“I didn’t—”
“I know.” She hurried and said, “After I asked you to leave, and after the girls came to talk me down from killing Janelle, I realized the truth when I went over and bitched out Janelle and warned her away from you. I was jealous. I’m insecure around other women who are feminine and beautiful. They know how to handle men and relationships. All I know how to do is breathe through the adrenaline stage and to push myself into a zone to perform the best endurance possible, so I can prove I’m as good or better than everyone else.”
“Okay, you’re done talking.” He pulled her over onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re better than all the other women, and I’ll prove it to you every day. I get what you’re saying, and I understand why you felt you needed to warn me about your jealous streak, but sweetheart, I love you for who you are.”
“Even now?” she asked, feeling the warmth from both the sun and his words.
He chuckled, sinking his face into her hair and breathing deeply. “Even more now. You’re beautiful, sexy, and everything I’ve ever wanted. I don’t want other women. I want you.”
Her whole body tingled and she slipped her arm around his back and held on to him. The feelings circling her body were not the friend status ones, but the all-consuming, she’d never leave him ones, even if he tried to push her away kind.
“Just to warn you, I probably won’t like any of your female friends,” she mumbled against his neck. “Or any woman that looks at you.”
“Okay.” His chest rumbled in amusement. “I can deal with that.”
“Also, you might want to continue being the badass boyfriend who punches other men in the face for hurting my feelings.” She lifted her chin and put her lips on his ear. “That’s really hot.”
“I’ll remember that,” he whispered, caressing the curve of her hip. “Do you have anything against having sex with me on the boat, out in the middle of the lake?”
She shook her head. “Can anyone see us out here?”
“We’ll keep our asses below the side of the boat,” he said, hooking his thumb in the waistband of her shorts. “They won’t see a thing.”
He rose from the seat and lowered her to the floor , pushing tackle bags and fishing poles out of the way. She squealed as a pool of cold water hit her lower back. Then she laughed as Bruce pulled off his shorts and she found him naked underneath. Her man went commando, and she loved it.
She rolled to the side, letting him soak up the water with the clothes he’d removed and then grabbed the shorts off the seat to cushion her head from the hardness of the aluminum.
“Your fans probably have their binoculars and big ass zoom lenses on their cameras trained right on your white butt,” she said, smiling at him.
He straightened his shoulders, posing in all his glory, and she laughed softly in amusement. Cocky, pure cocky, and she loved that about him. He had enough security for the both of them.
She lifted her hips and peeled her shorts and panties down her legs. Peeking over the side of the boat, she hurried and stripped off her tank and bra. Used to the coolness of the boat and heated from the inside because of Bruce loving her, she lay down and held out her hand. The thrill of outdoor sex for the first time and sharing the moment with Bruce excited her.
He lowered himself down beside her. His warm flesh had her rolling to her side to share his heat. His palm moved from the swell of her hip to the hollow of her waist then grazed her ass. She ran her hand over his shoulder, never wanting him to stop. Her nipples constricted and she ended up rolling onto her back to let him touch more of her. She needed him to consume every spot on her body.
He bent his free arm and supported his head on his hand, while he took his sweet time with his other hand, exploring her body, leaving no part of her out. She quivered as he trailed his hand up her thigh and around to the flat of her stomach and between her breasts, lingering at the plumpness on the outer edges.
His gaze followed his movements, and she enjoyed watching the fascination, the lust, the heat filling his eyes. Finally, he moved his hand downward, skimming her pubic bone, her inner thighs. She spread her legs, greedy for his touch and hungry to have him deep inside of her. But he continued his slow exploration as if memorizing every curve, every valley, on her.
“You are the most beautiful woman in my world, sweetheart.” His voice was deeper, more sincere than she’d ever heard, and she believed him.
She leaned up and kissed him, a slow mesh of lips, graduating to tasting each other. Her pussy dampened with the erotic caress of his tongue. She threw her leg over his thigh and pressed her breasts, aching and tender, into his chest. His hardness pressed against her lower stomach and the gentle throbbing grew harder. Her pelvis arched in lazy dips and rises against him, trying to ease the pressure building inside of her.
In a heartbeat, Bruce was above her, kneeling in the boat between her thighs, his hands on each side of her, and his gaze locked on hers. “Condom in my shorts.”
She raised her brows. “Mr. Convenient, huh?”
“When I’m with you, damn straight.” He sucked in a breath as she put the condom on him.
He entered her with a patient slowness as if they had all the time in the world. She loved his ability to slow her down to savor the experience when all she wanted to do was go wild because she knew how good it was with him.
He lowered his head and kissed her again. She lifted her arms and circled his neck, holding him in place, afraid he’d stop and delighted when he thrust all the way inside of her, stealing her breath. Because this was Bruce, he took control and she happily let him.
His movements grew faster, and she moaned into his mouth. She needed to move, to feel more of him, to plunge herself against him. Her near climax spiraled low and deep between her legs, and he slowed, dragging the delicious torture out, not letting her go over the edge, but building her higher.
He cupped the back of her head with his hand and brought his thrusts to the surface, barely touching her, dipping his cock and quickly pulling away. She squirmed under him, trying to take more of his length.
“So beautiful, sweetheart,” he mumbled, kissing her again.
He plunged deep once more, drawing a louder moan from her. She reached for the next stroke, and it never came. He went back to teasing her, touching her, denying her, making her crazy with need. His tongue fluttered against her lips, and she nipped him.
He growled and sank his cock into her sex, burying himself to his balls. Again and again, deeper and faster. Oh, God.
He set a rhythm that had her pussy spasming, her legs stiffening, and her core dancing. Only the sound of her breathing and an occasional bird whistling as it flew overhead invaded their moment. Bruce took her to the most beautiful place where sunlight shined upon her soul, and her world rocked in sensual pleasure.
Tireless and determined, Bruce continued his exquisite torture. Her climax came and flooded her with the most marvelous intensity. She wrapped herself around him, pulsing with each contraction of pleasure.
“Yes, yes … �
�� She clung to him as his body shuddered its own release.
Several minutes passed, and then Bruce rolled off her to the side, pillowing her head on his chest, his arm around her, and blew out his breath. She smiled against his skin.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“Love-love?” His arms tightened.
She nodded. “Yeah, I love-love you.”
“Love-love you more,” he whispered back.
She closed her eyes, sure that anything he was feeling, she felt ten times more. She had everything she’d ever wanted—her best friend and the man she’d love forever.
“We’ve got six days before we’re due in Cottage Grove,” he said.
She sighed, not ready to share him with others quite yet. “I know.”
“But before we go there, I want to take you somewhere else.” He pulled her into a sitting position. “Crista?”
She moistened her lips. “Yeah?”
“We’re getting married.” He heaved himself off the bottom of the boat and stood, naked and unconcerned that his fans on shore could see him. “It’ll be a rush job. We’ll fly to Vegas. I’ll buy you a ring, and then I’ll buy you a ring every year on our anniversary to make up for every gag gift I’ve ever bought you in the past.”
He tossed her the clothes she’d had on before they had sex. She thrust her arms into her shirt and leaned back to shove her legs in her shorts. When she had them over her hips she stood and zipped them up. “Are you kidding me?”
“Serious, sweetheart. I’m not wasting any more time.” He looked at her. “You have a problem with that?”
Drunk with happiness, she smiled. “Nope. I’m good with getting married.”
“Great.” He leaned over and kissed her. “We’re going to have a great life together.”
“Yeah,” she said, bursting with love for the only man who could sweep her off her feet and make damn sure she was along for the ride.
Bruce started the boat motor and the movement took her back down. She caught herself on the seat and watched Bruce guide the boat, going faster than she knew was legal on the lake, and smiled. She was getting married, and she couldn’t be happier.