by Dover, L. P.
“I think you made my thong suffer. You’re going to owe me some new underwear, Mr. Rushing,” I exclaimed.
He slowly walked down the steps into the pool and once the cool water touched my legs I sighed in relief. “I’ll buy you some new ones. Maybe I could go with you and you can model them for me in the store.”
Most places didn’t allow that, but with his charm, I was sure he’d find a way. “Sounds good to me,” I murmured, clenching my legs tighter around his waist.
Now that we were all the way in the pool, the water came up to my shoulders. He backed me up against the pool wall and held onto the edge before lowering his lips to mine, they were so soft and firm. Willingly, I opened for him and he pushed his tongue inside with demand, like he needed me . . . I loved it. I’d never been needed by anyone.
“I love being able to feel you like this,” he groaned, pushing inside of me. “But I think it’s time to heat things up a bit.”
“How so?”
Without answering, he gripped my waist with his strong hands and lifted me off his length, turning me around. I gasped with how quick he moved me, my heart thumping wildly in my chest when he lowered his lips to my ear, biting down.
“You’re going to want to hold onto the edge, beautiful.”
Instantly, my insides tightened in anticipation and my nipples grew more sensitive. I held onto the edge of the pool as he snaked his arms around me, pushing his rigid cock between my legs, and pinching my nipples between his fingers. I squeezed my legs around him, and he used my breasts to pull me up and down, his length sliding along my slit. I could feel my orgasm beginning to build and the moment my body clenched down, Tyler changed angles and slammed his cock inside of me.
I bit my lip to keep from crying out as he rode me hard, rubbing his thumb achingly fast across my clit. The water sloshed around us and I was about to lose my hold on the edge of the pool, but Tyler’s grip held me firmly in place. His thrusts went deeper and deeper, until it was too much to bear.
“Fuck, beautiful,” Tyler grunted. “I’m gonna come.”
Hearing him say that was my undoing; it was too late to hold back. The harder he pushed, the harder I came, trembling all around him. My orgasm went on and on, getting stronger the second Tyler dug his fingers into my hips and he yelled out, cock pulsing as he came inside of me.
Breathing hard and jerking with aftershocks, Tyler kissed the back of my neck and rested his head against mine. “I love you,” he murmured in my ear.
I squeezed my eyes shut and smiled, hoping the burn behind my lids would go away. Whatever happened, I wasn’t going to let my brother take him away from me. “I love you too, Tyler,” I whispered. “You have no idea how much.”
Gently lifting me up, Tyler turned me around and held my face in his hands. “How did I get so lucky?”
“You didn’t,” I replied, feeling the burn come back behind my eyes. “I was the one who got lucky.”
FOR A BRIEF moment after getting out of the pool, I thought I was starting to feel better, but I was wrong. It didn’t really hit me until I got in the shower and the hot water wasn’t warm enough. I had the chills and my head hurt a little too, but I blamed it on the heat and that I hadn’t eaten anything.
“Baby, are you okay?” Tyler asked as he came back into the bedroom, staring at me concerned. He was so hot in his distressed jeans and a light green polo shirt, I almost forgot he just asked me a question.
I watched his reflection in the mirror as he moved closer, trying my best to put on a smile. For the past five minutes, I’d been trying to put on my mascara without jabbing myself in the eye with the wand, but I couldn’t stop shaking. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just hungry,” I assured him. If I could just get some food in my stomach, I’d be okay.
“Well, Cole just texted and said they will be at the restaurant in ten minutes. Do you need more time?”
Swallowing hard, I licked my dry lips and ran my hands through my hair. I was so nauseous. “No, I think I’m good. I’ll be dressed and ready to go in three minutes.”
Quickly, I closed up my makeup bag and rushed to my suitcase and pulled out my favorite white flared skirt and light blue shirt with my tan wedge sandals. “Do you always walk around in just your bra and underwear at home?” Tyler asked, a sly smile splayed across his lips.
“Maybe,” I teased. “Why? Do you like it?”
Taking a seat on the bed, he gawked at my body and licked his lips. “It’s hot as hell. Are you sure you don’t want to stay at my house for a while?” he added, raising an eyebrow.
After sliding up my skirt, I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “I don’t want you getting tired of me, Tyler. Besides, you already see me enough as it is. I work with you now, remember?”
Snatching me around the waist, he held on tight and looked up into my eyes. “I could never get tired of you, beautiful. I just want to see your face every morning when I wake up.”
“Let me think about it,” I laughed, pushing him away.
He got to his feet and started for the bedroom door, winking at me before leaving the room. “Fine, take your time, but I can’t guarantee I won’t be showing up at your house every night. I’m giving you fair warning.”
For the most part, he’d been staying with me anyway. Honestly, I wanted to take him up on his offer and stay with him, but I was just afraid he would kick me out once he found out about Kyle.
Shivering, I put on my sleeveless shirt and clenched my teeth together to keep them from chattering. I wish I had a sweater. In my purse, I knew I had some Tylenol, so I popped a couple in my hand and swallowed them down, praying they helped.
INSTEAD OF GOING out on the town and getting wild and crazy, we opted to stay at the hotel and eat in one of the restaurants. It was perfectly fine with me considering I felt and looked like absolute shit. Bree and Cole were waiting for us in the lobby, both laughing and talking like they didn’t have a care in the world. However, when Bree saw me, she knew something was wrong. Thankfully, she didn’t ask anything in front of the guys.
Once we got seated at our table, I drank some water. I guzzled it down and wanted more.
“Are you sure you’re okay,” Tyler asked, passing me his water and putting his arm around my shoulders. Eagerly, I took it from him and guzzled it down too, sighing when I was done.
“I don’t think she is,” Bree cut in. “She looks like shit.”
“Gee, thanks,” I kidded halfheartedly, using most of my energy to keep the water down. I drank it so fast, I was starting to feel sick.
“Bree’s right,” Tyler agreed. “Well, not about the looking like shit part, but about you being all right. Something’s wrong.”
“I don’t know,” I admitted honestly. “I started feeling bad earlier, but I worked through it, thinking it was just the heat. I thought if we kept going it would pass.”
Exasperated, Tyler turned my chin so I’d have to look at him. His eyes were despondent. “Why didn’t you tell me? We could have taken it easy today.”
Sighing, I clasped his hand and leaned into it, exhausted. “Because you made it one of the best days of my life and I didn’t want anything to ruin it.”
About that time, the waiter came with our food and Tyler let my chin go as my plate was set down in front of me: filet mignon, garlic mashed potatoes, and asparagus. If I wasn’t so nauseous I’d be able to eat. Swallowing hard, I closed my eyes and held my breath, hoping it would pass.
“Oh my God, Kacey . . . you’re not pregnant are you?” Bree shrieked. “You look like you’re about to throw up.”
Leave it to Bree to make an announcement to the whole freaking restaurant. I was on the pill and I’d only had sex with Tyler twice—the first time being just yesterday. I wasn’t pregnant, and even Tyler knew I wasn’t by the way he rolled his eyes.
“I’m not pregnant,” I hissed quietly, glaring over to Bree. “I’m just nauseated.”
“What other symptoms are you having?” Tyler asked, taking my hand. �
��Your skin’s a little dry, but that could be from the chlorine in the pool. Do you have a headache or anything?”
“Yeah, my head is killing me. That’s probably why I’m nauseous, but then again, I haven’t really eaten or drank anything all day.”
Smelling the food only made my symptoms worse and before I could say another word, I bolted out of my seat and ran straight for the bathroom. Thank God I noticed where it was when we walked into the restaurant. Slamming open the door, I barreled into the stall and collapsed onto my knees, throwing up every ounce of water I just drank. What was my problem?
Knowing I didn’t have anything else in my stomach, I flushed the toilet and slowly got to my feet. My whole body ached and all I wanted to do was go to bed and sleep for a week. Once I looked at myself in the mirror, I gasped. I looked pale and my eyes sunken and dark.
About that time, Bree rushed into the bathroom and before I knew it my knees gave out. She caught me before I could stumble onto the floor.
“Thank . . . you,” I sputtered.
“Kace, what’s wrong with you?” she cried. “You almost look drunk. Have you had any alcohol today?”
Once I could stand without falling over, Bree hesitantly let me go, but kept her hand on my arm. “No, no alcohol. In fact . . .”
“In fact, what?” Bree commanded.
“I haven’t had anything to drink today. We were so busy, I didn’t even eat or drink. I just kept going.”
Bree huffed and held my arm tighter while leading me toward the door. “And you wonder what’s wrong with you. You’re dehydrated, dumb ass. We need to get you pumped with fluids like now. Dehydration isn’t something to mess around with. You should know better than that.”
And I did know better, I was just too wrapped up in the day to even think about taking care of myself. Opening the bathroom door, Bree put her arm around my waist to give me support. I couldn’t believe how being dehydrated really did make you feel like death, it was almost like the flu.
“Thanks, Bree. I probably need to call it a night. I feel bad ruining everyone’s fun.”
“Oh, whatever. You know Tyler will be more than happy to have you all to himself, even if he has to spend it nursing you back to health. I’ll just take Cole back to our room and nurse him back to health too. That man is insatiable.”
Bree always had a way of getting a smile on my face, even when I felt horrible. However, that smile didn’t last long when I looked over at our table. “You have got to be kidding me,” I hissed.
“What is it?” Bree asked, alarmed. “Do you need to throw up again?”
“No, but I think my headache just got worse.” I pointed to our table and when she looked, her eyes went wide.
“Is that who I think it is?” she asked.
Clenching my teeth together, I closed my eyes and nodded, my blood boiling in my veins.
“WELL, LOOK WHO it is,” a voice called out. “I didn’t know you guys were staying at this hotel.”
I froze at the voice and Cole’s eyes went wide. Gabriella walked up and sat down beside me. I didn’t know she was going to be there either.
As always, she looked the same with her midnight black hair and bright green eyes, wearing a pair of jeans and tight pink T-shirt. It was hard to believe that a little over a month ago we were lovers, and now our time together was just a distant memory.
“Gabriella,” I greeted, turning to her with a hesitant smile. Even though we were strictly friends, I knew Kacey would get pissed if she saw Gabriella sitting beside of me. I never thought the day would come when I didn’t want Gabriella around. Kacey and I were getting closer. She trusted me, or at least I hoped she did.
“Who are you here with?” I asked, looking around the restaurant. “Is your brother here?”
“No, he’s coming in first thing tomorrow. I’m here with Bradley. The Twins of Terror are also in town, but they’re staying somewhere else.”
“How was your visit to see Ashleigh? Have you told Ryley about her yet?”
“No, but I probably will. Something’s up with her though. I don’t know why she doesn’t want me to tell him what happened.”
“Well, whatever her reasons are, it’s not just her in this anymore. She’s messing with Ryley’s feelings too.”
Eyes wide, Gabriella sat back in the chair and laughed. “Wow, look at you being all philosophical. You seem different somehow. What’s changed?”
Everything.
When I didn’t answer right away, she lifted her brows curiously and smiled. “Well, whatever it is I think it suits you.” She looked down at all four plates of food and whistled. “Either you boys are loading up before tomorrow’s fights or you have guests. Which is it?”
Cole grinned mischievously at me, not thinking I would tell Gabriella the truth. Little did he know, I didn’t care if Gabriella knew I was with someone else. Just as I was about to explain, Bree trudged forward, struggling to hold Kacey up with her arm around her waist.
“What the hell’s going on?” I demanded, rushing out of my seat. Kacey looked worse than when she left the table.
Bree passed her to me and I lifted her into my arms, cradling her to my chest. “She’s dehydrated,” Bree explained, grabbing her glass of water off the table. “We figured it out in the bathroom. She hasn’t drank anything all day.”
Looking down at Kacey, it all made sense. “What did you do with that bottle of water I gave you after we went golfing? I told you to drink it.”
“And I was about to, but then I got distracted and never drank it,” she replied weakly. Finally, she looked over at Gabriella and stiffened, then turned her glare to me, her jaw tense. She had no reason to be angry, but if the situation was turned, I’d be furious if she was talking to one of her ex’s. If only she knew there was nothing to worry about.
“You know, if you can’t keep any water down we’re going to have to take you to the hospital.” Bree passed me her glass of water and held it to Kacey’s lips.
“Drink,” I commanded. She did as I said, never taking her eyes off of mine, and took a few sips, then a few more until the glass was empty.
“Is there anything you need me to do?” Gabriella asked, genuine concern showing on her face. She got to her feet and came to my side. Kacey stiffened even more. “If she’s dehydrated you need to make sure she drinks as much as she can, but slow so that she doesn’t throw it up.”
“I know,” I told her, stepping to the side, holding Kacey tighter. “I’m going to take her back to the room so she can get some rest. We had a busy day, I think a little relaxation is in order.”
Gabriella nodded at Bree and Cole before turning back to me, sneaking a quick glance at Kacey. By the look in her eyes, she knew Kacey was more than just one of my groupies. However, I could tell she was happy for me by the small smile splayed across her lips.
“Well, you all take care and I hope she gets to feeling better. Dehydration isn’t fun. But I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the fight.”
“We’ll be there.”
She smiled at us all and waved before taking a seat at the bar, where none other than Bradley Thompson sat glaring at me. Some things would never change. He didn’t like any of Gabriella’s friends, especially me because I was the one who took her away from him. But now he had her back.
“Let’s go to our room, beautiful,” I murmured in Kacey’s ear. Her eyes were closed, but I knew she wasn’t asleep from how tense she was in my arms. “She’s gone, Kacey. You have nothing to worry about with her. You are the one I want to be with.”
She relaxed just a little bit, but not much.
“Tyler, I’m going to have Kacey’s food boxed up and we’ll bring it up to you,” Bree offered. “She needs to eat something.”
I nodded and started out of the restaurant. When I got to the room, I carried Kacey straight to the bedroom and laid her down so I could fetch her a bottle of water. Lying beside of her, I pulled her into my arms and brushed the hair off of her face. “Are you
hungry?”
“No,” she whispered. “I’m just really tired.”
Opening the bottle of water, I lifted her up in my arms and pressed it to her lips. “I know you’re tired, but you need to drink more . . . and I also know you’re pissed about Gabriella.”
Sighing, she opened her lips and slowly drank half of the bottle before lying back down on my chest and closing her eyes. “She’s always going to be there,” she whispered regretfully. “I can’t compete with her constantly being around you.”
Holding her tighter, I caressed my fingers up and down her back and kissed her forehead. “You’re wrong,” I murmured. “She can’t compete with you.”
I was hoping she would talk to me or at least acknowledge that she heard me, but once her breathing started to slow, I knew she was asleep. I needed to find a way to convince her.
By late morning, I was dressed and ready to go to the arena, but Kacey was still asleep. She had gotten up in the middle of the night to drink another bottle of water and went straight back to sleep, without saying a word. I could still feel the tension between us.
Her skin looked normal, not pale and definitely not clammy and cold like it was last night, which made me feel a little bit more comfortable. I still hated leaving for the arena without talking to her.
“Do you want me to wake her up?” Bree asked. “She’s going to be pissed if we leave without her.” Bree and Cole had been sitting in the living room for the past twenty minutes, while I kept watch over Kacey, hoping she’d open her eyes.
I didn’t want her angry, but more importantly I didn’t want her being miserable in the stands with screaming people all around. “Yeah, but she needs her rest,” I interjected. “If you’ve ever been dehydrated before I’m pretty sure you’d choose rest over sitting in a crowded arena. I can only hope she’ll understand why we left her.”
In her hands, she held a black and green MMA Pride T-shirt that matched the one she was wearing. Setting it down on the coffee table, she agreed, “I understand. If you don’t want her mad at you, you can always suck up by ordering her favorite Godiva chocolates. It is the way to win any girl’s heart.”