by Jenna Sutton
Quinn had taken their dad’s illness much harder than Teagan had expected, probably because he’d been forced to take on James’s responsibilities at Riley O’Brien & Co. Even though her actions regarding the women’s division suggested otherwise, Teagan thought her oldest brother had done a great job leading the company.
“Our family is growing,” her dad said, a note of satisfaction in his voice. “Amelia, Ava Grace . . . two more sweethearts to join my favorite girls.”
Teagan smiled, amused that her father referred to his wife of nearly thirty-six years as a girl. Her mother loved it, though, and every time he called her my girl she giggled like a teenager with a crush.
To the outside world, James was a hard-ass. He was almost as quiet as Nick, and he was the perfect example of the strong, silent type. But when it came to his family, he was the proverbial pussycat.
“And Nick’s here, too,” her dad continued, a huge grin on his face. “He hasn’t been able to spend Christmas with us since he and the boys were at USC.”
Teagan tried not to scowl. Yes, Nick was here, ruining her Christmas. But everyone else was over the moon that he was spending the holiday with them, especially James. He adored the younger man, considering him another son.
Before Nick had broken her heart, Teagan had thought the connection between her dad and Nick was sweet. Now it made her want to puke.
But Teagan had to hide her real feelings because she didn’t want her parents or her brothers to find out about what had happened between her and Nick. And Nick, damn him, was completely taking advantage of that fact. He knew she wasn’t able to ignore him or slap him in front of her family, and everywhere she turned, he was there.
He had squeezed in next to her in the car as the family headed to the church for Christmas Eve services. He had stood beside her at Mass, his arm brushing against her breast at least ten times. He had crowded her in the kitchen as she made coffee, pressing his hard body against her back as he leaned over her shoulder.
The absolute worst had occurred this morning when he’d sat next to her at the breakfast table. He’d sneaked his warm hand under her skirt to caress her thigh, and when she’d stood up, she had been afraid there would be a huge wet spot on the chair.
And now he was just steps away, leaning against the fireplace mantle and watching her intently with those gorgeous green eyes.
“Okay, everyone, find a seat,” her mother ordered, clapping her hands. “It’s time for presents.”
Teagan made a dash for one of the damask armchairs, determined to avoid sitting near Nick for the next hour. She exhaled loudly in relief once she sat down, tucking a leg underneath her.
She slanted a furtive glance toward Nick. He had noticed her haste, and his kissable lips quirked in amusement. He waited until everyone else had taken a seat before sauntering over to where Teagan sat. Perching on the wide arm of her chair, he leaned back slightly and edged toward her.
She got a whiff of his cologne, a delicious woodsy scent, and growled under her breath when he shifted even closer. The jerk laughed softly before settling his big hand on the back of her neck. It was hot against her skin, and she shivered.
He stroked his thumb against the side of her throat, and her nipples hardened. She casually moved her head away from him but then snapped it back when she realized her face was almost in his crotch.
“I’m so excited,” her mother exclaimed, standing next to the tree. “Look at all these presents I get to distribute! I feel like Santa Claus. Ho, ho, ho!”
Kate knelt down and picked up a brightly wrapped package. Reading the tag, she passed it to Amelia. She repeated the process several times until the velvet tree skirt encircling the tree was empty and everyone in the room had several gifts to unwrap.
Grabbing a rectangular box from the pile next to her, Teagan checked the tag. The gift was from Amelia, and she tore off the reindeer-printed paper, eager to see what her future sister-in-law had given her.
She opened the gift box and pushed back the red tissue paper, gasping in delight and surprise when she saw a pair of redesigned Rileys nestled inside. The new jean designs weren’t even in production yet, so Amelia must have made this pair by hand.
Teagan held the denim to her chest, tears springing to her eyes. She hadn’t worn a pair of Rileys since she’d developed curves, and Amelia could not have given her a more perfect gift.
She waited until Amelia had finished opening one of her presents and caught her attention. She stared into her big brown eyes, trying to convey how much the gift meant to her.
“Thank you,” she mouthed, and Amelia smiled.
Nick leaned down, placing his mouth near her ear. “I’m going to love seeing your ass in those jeans,” he whispered.
She jerked away, glaring at him. She thought the jeans were fabulous, but she momentarily considered burning them just to spite him. She made a silent vow never to wear them in his presence.
In an effort to ignore Nick, she pulled another gift from the pile. Without checking the tag, she ripped off the shiny red paper. The cardboard box inside was taped shut, and she called out to her dad, asking for his pocketknife.
Once she had it in hand, she sliced open the box and cut through the bubble wrap inside. Pushing the protective material aside, she looked down at the gift.
She knew immediately it was from Nick. The sterling silver picture frame wasn’t anything special, but the same could not be said for the picture in it, a black-and-white shot of Nick and Teagan.
It was a photo she’d never seen before, and it had been taken the day they’d gone sailing. Nick’s arm was wrapped around her shoulders, and she leaned against him. While she looked into the camera with a huge smile on her face, he gazed down at her.
His expression in the photo sent chills over her. If she were looking at the picture without any knowledge of the people in it, she would have said the guy was in love with the girl.
Crazy in love.
But Teagan knew the people in the photo, and she knew their history. She knew there was only one person in the picture who had been crazy in love, and that person wasn’t Nick.
She stared down at the photo, overwhelmed with emotion. She swallowed to push back the tears burning in the back of her throat and covered the image with the palm of her hand.
Nick leaned close to her, placing his hand on top of hers. He squeezed her fingers gently.
“Do you understand now?” he murmured.
* * *
They said a picture was worth a thousand words, and Nick hoped “they” were right, whoever the hell “they” were. He hoped the picture he’d given Teagan would tell her all the things he couldn’t say.
I love you. I loved you then, and I love you now. Please give me another chance. I’m miserable without you, and I’m afraid of what the rest of my life will be like if you’re not with me.
He held his breath, waiting for any indication the photo had impacted her like it had him when he’d first seen it. A few months ago, Letty had gone on an organization warpath and directed him to browse through the unopened boxes that were stored in the closet in his study.
Fearing her wrath if he refused, Nick had tackled the cardboard tower. He’d found the pictures in the second box he opened.
He had never even looked at the pictures when he’d received them in the mail shortly after their sailing trip. He’d shoved them in a drawer in his Boston condo, and Letty had packed them up when they’d moved to Nashville. When he’d finally flipped through them, he’d broken out in a cold sweat, shocked by what they had shown in black and white.
His feelings for Teagan were obvious in every picture—love, desire, admiration. Her feelings were obvious, too, especially in the photo of her looking at him when he hadn’t been aware of her gaze.
That picture sat on his nightstand as a reminder that she had loved him. He prayed every ni
ght she still did, even if her love was hidden under layers of hate.
Teagan shook her head, just a small movement, but enough for Nick’s hope to dissolve. He sighed. Maybe he should have given her jewelry instead.
“Hey, T, show us what you got,” Cal called out, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
Nick tensed, worried Teagan would give in to her older brother’s request. He didn’t want anyone else to see that photo. It showed too much, and it was for Teagan’s eyes only.
When Teagan didn’t respond to Cal’s comment, Nick plucked the frame from the box. He waved it around too quickly for anyone to see the image within it.
“Picture frame,” he said. “From me.”
“You put a lot of thought into that,” Cal quipped, obviously assuming the frame was filled with a stock image of strangers.
Nick returned the frame to the box before wadding up a piece of wrapping paper and lobbing it at Cal’s head. The other man ducked like the paper could actually hurt him, knocking his dark head against Ava Grace’s blond one.
“Oww!” Ava Grace exclaimed, her raspy voice slightly higher than usual. “You have a hard head, Cal.”
“That’s what all the ladies say,” Cal replied, waggling his eyebrows.
Ava Grace rolled her eyes. “Do they also say your good looks don’t make up for your lame sense of humor?”
The singer’s quip made everyone laugh, everyone except for Teagan. She continued to stare down at the photo, her hand covering the image of the two of them.
Nick wished he knew what she was thinking, but before he could say anything, she turned the picture frame over and carefully tucked the bubble wrap around it before closing up the box. She placed it on the floor next to her and covered it with the jeans Amelia had given her.
He pushed down his disappointment. He had been stupid to think a picture would change things.
He directed his attention to his pile of presents, wondering if Teagan had bought anything for him. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had given him a box of candy she’d laced with laxatives. She was both creative and diabolical, just two things he loved about her.
Finally, all the presents were unwrapped, and colorful remnants of ribbon and paper littered the floor. Nick had received a bounty of gifts, including a sweater from Kate, a book on San Francisco’s history from Ava Grace, a bottle of fine Irish whiskey from James, and a handmade leather belt from Amelia.
His two best friends had picked gifts they knew he’d enjoy: Cal had given him a new golf driver, although Nick doubted it would make his game any better, and Quinn had surprised him with a digital camera and lessons from one of the top photographers in the city.
Teagan had given him nothing but a glare. And Cal noticed.
“Didn’t you get anything for Priest, T?”
She glanced toward Nick, a glint in her eyes that made all the hair on his body stand on end. She smiled evilly, a tiny twist of her lips.
“Don’t worry, Cal. I already gave Nick his present. At the Riley O’Brien holiday party.”
“Really?” Cal asked, his dark eyebrows arched. “What did you give him?”
Teagan stood, tossing Nick a satisfied look over her shoulder. She bent down to pick up some of her presents, and he couldn’t help but stare at her ass as her plaid skirt rose.
“Why don’t you tell them what I gave you, Nick?” she suggested as she straightened.
He narrowed his eyes. He knew she didn’t want her family to know about them, so she was just trying to put him on the spot—to make him sweat a little.
She walked toward the door, carrying a stack of goodies that did not include his gift. He pressed his tongue against his teeth so he could deliver a long sentence.
“She offered to help me look for a new house.”
He had planned to tour houses with Letty, but he definitely liked the idea of touring them with Teagan better. He wanted to buy a place she liked, since he planned for them to live there together.
Teagan’s head snapped around, and she stumbled. She stared at him, her dark blue eyes huge behind her black-rimmed glasses.
“Perfect gift,” he added. “So thoughtful.”
“It’s always so helpful to have a second opinion,” Kate noted, her blond bob swinging. “And Teagan is such a skillful negotiator. She always finds a way to get exactly what she wants.”
Nick met Teagan’s eyes, recalling her husky voice asking him to give her what she wanted. When her cheeks turned pink, he knew she remembered the same thing.
She licked her lips, and he wondered if she was thinking about the blow job she’d given him during their night together. He’d never forgotten the feel of her luscious lips sucking him deep as he slid his cock in and out of her hot mouth.
James cleared his throat, and Nick jerked his eyes away from Teagan, embarrassed he’d been thinking about her going down on him when her parents sat less than fifteen feet away. Thank God his black dress pants were roomy.
Gathering the rest of Teagan’s gifts, he headed toward her. He tilted his head toward them.
“Car?”
“Guest room. I stayed over last night.”
He waited for her to lead the way, since he didn’t know which guest room she occupied. He followed her down the hall and into a large, airy bedroom filled with white cottage-style furniture. Stopping just inside the door, he watched as she made her way to a pair of high-backed chairs situated near the window.
“You can put everything right there,” she directed, pointing toward the chairs. “And then you can leave.”
The walls were a shade between lavender and baby blue, and they made her eyes look almost violet in contrast. He stared at her for a moment, taking in her gorgeous face. He wished she would smile at him the way she used to . . . the way she had in the picture.
Instead, she eyed him warily, as if he were a snake about to strike. Using his foot to push the door shut behind him, he ambled toward her. As he deposited the gifts on one of the floral-printed chairs, she tried to dash around him.
Thanks to football, he had faster reflexes than most people, and he caught her by the waistband of her skirt. He reeled her back to him like a fish caught on a hook.
She glowered over her shoulder. “You’re going to rip my skirt.”
He smiled, imagining how fucking awesome it would feel to tear that schoolgirl skirt from her body before spreading her legs and sinking into her tight pussy. His thoughts must have been a little too obvious on his face because her eyes widened.
Before she could put up much of a struggle, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and turned her to face him. Her hair was loose and wavy, and he threaded his fingers through the dark strands to hold her head immobile so he could look into her eyes.
“Did you like the picture?”
She tried to look away from him, but he clenched his hands in her hair and gently tilted her head back. She swallowed, her white throat rippling, before closing her eyes.
He waited for her to answer, but after several moments he realized she wasn’t going to, not without some persuasion. He brushed his lips against hers, and she sighed, a breathy little sound that made his heart beat faster.
“Tell me,” he demanded, nipping her bottom lip.
She gasped, and he darted his tongue into her mouth. Tilting her head, he delved more deeply into her sweetness. Her tongue twined around his, and he followed it eagerly before sucking it into his mouth.
Dropping his hands from her head, he palmed her ass and pulled her against his erection. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts against his chest.
It felt like it had been a lifetime since he had tasted her sweet, pink nipples, and suddenly that was all he could think about. He brought his fingers around to her stomach to slip them under her sweater, stroking her smooth skin until he rea
ched the edge of her bra.
When he found her nipple under the stretchy lace, he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. She moaned against his mouth, and he walked backward until his knees hit the empty chair.
Dropping down into it, he looked up into Teagan’s face. Her lips were rosy and swollen, and her cheeks were flushed. Just as he reached for the hem of her sweater, a light knock sounded on the door. She jerked away from him, her eyes wide with dismay.
“Teagan,” Amelia said softly through the door. “You have about two minutes before Quinn realizes Nick has been with you this whole time. Alone.”
Teagan took a step toward the door, but he pulled her back. He wasn’t ready to leave this room, and he didn’t give a shit about who was on the other side of the door. She stared down at his hand before raising her eyes to his.
“Thank you for the picture.”
Touchdown, Priest!
Teagan continued, “It’s a good reminder of who I used to be and what I used to want.” Without taking her eyes from his, she raised her voice to be heard through the door. “Amelia, you can come in. Nick and I were just reminiscing about the way things used to be. But we’re done now.”
Chapter 26
It was Nick’s first day of work that didn’t involve a football and yard lines, and he was nervous. His success at Riley O’Brien & Co. depended on his brain rather than his body, and that scared the shit out of him.
Not to mention the fact that Teagan was going to be his boss. Although Quinn made the final decisions for the charitable foundation, Teagan carried them out, and Nick would report to her.
It might have made more sense to postpone his first day until after the New Year, but he didn’t want to wait even one more day. Every day that passed without seeing Teagan was just another day of his life wasted.
He let his gaze roam the reception area of the company’s global headquarters in downtown San Francisco. It was deserted, probably because of the holidays.
He hadn’t visited the offices in years, not since he’d played for Denver, and the space had been redesigned since then. It was an interesting mix of wood, metal, and glass—kind of industrial meets rustic with a little contemporary thrown in. And the color scheme was interesting, too, blues and greens like the ocean, along with bright orange like the sunset.