“I’ll get back to you.” Before he could protest that he wanted to hear my idea, I hung up and walked back to Vicki and Brandi. They seemed to have become fast friends, giggling and talking.
Brandi regarded me with her big brown eyes. “Vicki tells me that you’re not in the lineup. How come? It’s for a great cause.”
Now she was making me feel like a first-class bitch who didn’t care about others.
Nevertheless, I pinched my eyebrows for nothing more than to do something while I thought about what I was going to say. Still, I wasn’t thrilled to be auctioned off to some guy I didn’t know. In my mind, the event was similar to a blind date, but I didn’t do blind dates. The last one I’d been on was a disaster.
A girlfriend I’d hung out with my junior year at boarding school had hooked me up with her cousin at a wedding she’d had to go to. Her cousin had turned out to be one of those guys who thought his shit didn’t stink. He’d thought that putting me down was giving me a compliment. In the end, I’d understood why he couldn’t get a girl even though he hadn’t been bad looking.
Brandi stuck her phone at me. “Care to comment?”
I rolled back my shoulders and held out my chin. “The charity event is for a good cause, and my father, Senator Hale, and I feel that we can help out. So I will be participating, and my father will also be donating ten thousand dollars to the charity.” My father would probably have a baby when he found out the amount I’d committed on his behalf, but I didn’t care. If he wanted to show voters a side of him that no one hardly saw, then the time was now. Maybe the charitable donation would help him in the polls.
Vicki’s jaw dropped, although the excitement swimming in her eyes said she was more than happy.
I didn’t how I felt, but maybe I would walk away with a night out with some hot guy. Maybe Ryker James.
19
Ryker
My house was teeming with people as night set in. Lucas and I had decided to invite a few friends over to our house near campus, including the football team, to celebrate our big win that day.
Not all our teammates could make it, but the tight-knit group of Ajax, Erik, Vin, Lucas, and me were gathered around the kitchen island while other invited guests lounged out by or in the pool.
I was still high from our win. I couldn’t believe we’d actually won. I’d had my doubts, especially when I’d walked out onto the field. My nerves had been in my throat, my stomach had been queasy, and my legs had felt like Silly Putty. It had taken me a few plays to get in the groove. Even then, I hadn’t been myself. Getting sacked had stymied me, and it had taken all Coach had had to get through to me.
Despite all that, as the game had progressed, I’d started to lose my nerves and the nausea. By the last two minutes in the game, I’d felt normal again, particularly after the win, which was what I’d needed.
When Lucas had said football or the game would be good for me, I’d had my doubts. But I felt like a weight had been lifted off my stomach. Coach Chapman had been pleased but not thrilled. We still had many games to play, and hopefully the next would be easier for me.
Vin handed me a shot while the guys picked up theirs. “Toast.”
I pinned a look on Vin, Ajax, Erik, and Lucas, sighing with relief at how they’d had my back on the field, how they would always have my back. Because of that, another weight was lifted.
Vin raised his shot of whiskey. “Here’s to Ryker. Man, we know it’s been hard for you. We know that this game took all the muscle you had, but you did it.”
I held up my hand. “Before we drink, I want to say something. Vin is right. It’s been fucking hard as hell for me the last month and a half. Sometimes I don’t know if the sun is up or not. Sometimes I don’t want to even get out of bed.”
A partygoer walked into the kitchen, but Erik shoved him out. “Closed meeting, dude. I’ll let you know when you can come in. If you want a drink, the coolers are out on the patio.”
I glanced out the sliding glass door that Lucas got up and locked. A muted beat of music pumped out of the speakers we had hanging from the house outside.
“Continue,” Erik said, coming back to join us.
“Look, I’m sure I’m going to have more dark moments. So please don’t give up on me. Today was refreshing, but tomorrow could be something else.” I had no idea how many ups and downs I had to get through before I didn’t feel like the world was crashing down around me.
“You need to get laid,” Ajax said. “When was the last time?”
I cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t need any of you to be my pimps.”
Everyone chuckled.
“I swear,” Erik said. “A good fuck will help cure you in more ways than you can imagine.”
I chuckled, almost teasing that I couldn’t get a hard-on to save my life, but that wasn’t true anymore, not when Haven was around or I was thinking of her.
“Leave my sex life to me. Now, drink and then get the fuck out of here and enjoy yourself.”
We knocked back the shot, then some of the guys shook off the burning alcohol. As for me, the whiskey didn’t burn at all. That should’ve worried me, but I didn’t want to analyze anything that night.
The guys scattered.
Lucas slid his phone over to me. “Check it out.”
Brandi: The headline for the paper will read: “Haven Hale will be part of the Chelsea auction in late October.” Send me the list of all the names, and I’ll add that to my story.
I shrugged, grabbing the bottle of whiskey. I really wanted that bottle of scotch that Franklin had given me, but that was at my parents’ house. “I guess that plug we put in with the reporter on the field did the trick. Now you have your list.”
A laugh rumbled out of his chest. “Why do I get the feeling you’re disappointed? I thought you wanted her in it.”
“Dude, you wanted her to participate more than me. I only started the whole ‘add a female’ thing because I wanted to fuck with her head and her old man.”
“Speaking of her old man, he’s donating ten grand to the charity.”
I didn’t know how to take that one. “I wonder if he’s trying to make up for screwing with my old man.” I doubted it, but it was a thought.
“Or maybe Haven coaxed him into it,” Lucas said.
My stomach did a flip at the mention of her name. What the fuck?
“What? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Lucas said.
He knew me well. “I’m cool.”
Lucas’s face twisted. “Bullshit. It’s Haven. As soon as her name comes up, you react. It’s subtle, but I know you. It’s okay to like her.”
I didn’t like how well he could read me. “Have you met her old man?”
Chuckling, Lucas gripped my shoulder. “Ryker James brooding over a chick.”
“Dude, I’m not brooding. Give me a few minutes. I’ll come find you guys.” I left Lucas before he tried to get me to open up. The day was ending on a good note, and I wanted to leave it like that.
I wound my way through the house, dodging people, with a whiskey bottle in one hand and checking my pockets for my phone with the other. But I came up empty on my phone. I must’ve left it in my room.
Instead of going down into the basement, I headed upstairs until my gaze drifted like a lazy breeze on a hot summer day to a couple in the living room. The redhead had her back to me, and on first impulse, I ambled in that direction.
I was curious why Haven had agreed to be part of the charity auction all of a sudden. She’d been adamant about not doing the fucking event. But when a tall, lanky dude leaned down and kissed the redhead on the lips, my gut twisted in a weird way.
I froze in my tracks, my brain searching for reasons why a guy kissing Haven would bother me. But analysis went by the wayside when some short and bulky guy bumped into me, causing me to lose my train of thought.
“Sorry, Ryker.”
I held up my hand. “No worries.” I wasn’t about to start a brawl, although I had t
he urge to punch the dude kissing Haven until the redhead turned around.
It wasn’t Haven, but man, the girl could’ve passed for the senator’s daughter. Maybe Haven had a sister I didn’t know about. The chick’s long red hair matched Haven’s in color, as did her curves. But what didn’t match were her small tits. Haven’s were far from small.
The booze was creeping up on me for sure.
Nevertheless, I continued to my bedroom, dodging people who were sitting on the stairs. As I wound my way down the hall, I found that my door was ajar.
What the fuck?
I always locked my door during a party. Lucas locked his too. I hoofed it down the hall and barreled in as though I were a bouncer ready to throw someone out the window, not caring if a naked girl was waiting for me.
A blonde sat on my bed, fully dressed and searching through…
Motherfucker!
I closed the distance between Tabitha Sims, Beverly’s sister, and me. Then I grabbed her by the arm and hauled her up. “What are you doing in my room?” I ripped the picture she was holding out of her hand.
She squealed. “Let me go. You’re hurting me.”
I eased up on my grip as I deposited her at my door. “I’ll ask you again. What are you doing in here?”
She squinted her beady blue eyes. “I came to congratulate you on a great game. So much for that.”
I placed the picture of my family back in Leigh’s box. I hadn’t even opened it, and this stupid woman had the fucking nerve to go through my things. Fury, hot as an out-of-control inferno, blazed through my veins. “You’re trespassing. Do you normally go into people’s rooms and go through their personal items before you congratulate them?”
She hiked a bare shoulder. She was wearing one of those blouses that slipped down her arm on one side. “I saw the box on your dresser and peeked into it.”
This chick shopped at a different mall. Either that, or she was a penny away from crazy town.
I was tired of Tab and Beverly trying to get their claws into me. Granted, the last time Beverly had tried was when I’d woken up after a drunken fest and found her in my bed, although she’d left a few messages on my phone that I hadn’t returned. I wasn’t going to either.
Tabitha was just like her sister. Both were out to find a husband before they graduated college. Well, I wasn’t that guy.
“The next time you decide to go through someone’s things when you’re not supposed to, I would think twice. The next person might not be so nice.” Then I slammed the door in her face and locked the fucker.
I took a swig of whiskey and then another before I set the bottle down on my nightstand. I went to put the lid back on the box but hesitated. Maybe it was a good time to go through Leigh’s things. I dropped down on the bed and pulled out more pictures of Leigh and her friends, the one of our family, bookmarks, and her art supplies. But underneath all that, I found an envelope with my name on it.
With shaky hands, I examined the envelope as though it held secrets I was afraid to see. Holding my breath, I removed the card. Before I could read it, knuckles wrapped on my door, soft and light.
“Go away, Tabitha,” I shouted. She’d probably forgotten something, but as I glanced around, I didn’t see anything.
Another knock sounded, then the knob turned.
The fury that had waned reared its ugly head. I was going to carry Tabitha out of the house by her flimsy see-through shirt.
I deposited the card back in the box and went to open the door. When I did, my jaw came unhinged. “What do you want?” I asked, sounding like a guy who was about to lose his shit.
Haven craned her neck up at me with a smile that made my stomach do that flip again.
“Please tell me you’re here to take care of my libido. Otherwise, you know where the door is.”
She rolled her emerald eyes.
“Follow the Yellow Brick Road” popped into my head.
I started to close the door, but the petite woman slipped by me and into my room.
I spun on my heel, ready to unleash something on her, but my tongue wasn’t working as she continued to show me her pretty white teeth. Or maybe it was her lips that had me thinking dirty thoughts.
She stuck her hands on her hips, drawing my eye down to her tanned legs, which were on display beneath her shorts. “You mean the last girl who was in here didn’t take care of your libido? I find that hard to believe.”
I let my gaze roam freely up and down her fantastic body, which was making my dick grow. I was convinced she was my beacon.
I locked us in just in case other women tried to parade through my room, which wasn’t far-fetched at the parties Lucas and I had.
She eyed the door. “Are you kidnapping me?”
“Do you want to be kidnapped?”
She sucked in her bottom lip, and my dick jerked.
She whirled around, taking in the normal bedroom furniture in my humble room. Her gaze landed on a painting Leigh had done for me that depicted Lakemont Stadium. Leigh had drawn every detail, right down to the team on the field.
Haven pointed at the painting. “Your sister did that?” I suspected she’d read Leigh’s name in the bottom corner.
“What do you want?” I wasn’t in the mood to talk about Leigh. My mind was on the card I had yet to read.
Haven abandoned the painting. “I came to tell you that you got your wish. I’m also here for the party.”
I leaned against the door. “You mean you came to give me a blow job?”
She snarled. “Why are you so cranky? Is it the booze? Alcoholics tend to get mean.”
I belted out a laugh. “Are you my shrink or something?” She might be right. I was probably bordering on becoming a full-fledged alcoholic. “Cranky is my middle name.”
She giggled, and if it wasn’t a heart-pumping sound, I didn’t know what was. I wished I knew why this girl was getting to the places inside me that hadn’t been touched in forever.
“Cranky is your middle name? Mmm. I heard it’s Foreplay King.”
I grinned so wide, I thought the corners of my mouth would reach my ears. “You like foreplay king.” I licked my lips. “You’re thinking of what I could do to you. Aren’t you?” I knew I was.
Her cheeks flushed as she picked up the whiskey bottle. “Not at all.” She uncapped it and took a long drink. Once she swallowed, she choked.
I angled my head. “Do you lie a lot?”
After downing another gulp of whiskey, she returned the bottle to the nightstand, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “I never lie.”
I couldn’t lose my grin if she paid me.
She sighed. “I wanted to tell you that I’m going to do your fundraiser.”
“I know. I heard. After tomorrow, the whole campus will know. The question is, does your old man?” I suspected he did since he was donating money, but I wanted to hear it from Haven.
Her nostrils flared. “It was his idea.”
I imagined the little nostril gesture was because I’d mentioned her old man.
“Liar. He wouldn’t let you.” The senator didn’t allow things unless they benefited him, and he wasn’t thrilled when the fundraiser had come up at the church the other day. “Frankly, I couldn’t care less if you do the charity event or not.”
She didn’t react to anything I’d said, not even a flinch or a raised brow. Then again, she was a politician’s daughter. She had probably been taught how to play her cards, and for some reason, that excited the fuck out of me.
I felt a challenge coming on. Would she react if I stripped her naked? Would she react if I devoured every inch of her? Would she react with me inside her?
My cock was jumping up and down, and holy fuck if her mesmerizing emerald orbs didn’t lower to my crotch.
Her breathing ramped up as her tits poked out of the low-cut blouse she was wearing.
My cock grew, as did my pulse. I only made the first move when a woman gave me a sign. At that moment, Haven was stari
ng at my groin, and while every vibe in me told me she wanted me, I wanted her to make the first move. But the more she stared, the harder it was not to pounce.
20
Haven
I tried to get my heart to calm down as I blatantly stared at Ryker’s dick, which was huge and growing in his jeans. I swore the zipper would burst open.
Stupid me for storming into his room like I owned the house, like I lived there. But I’d sought him out to congratulate him and to let him know I would do the stupid charity thing. Or maybe I did want to spar with the quarterback. I was in the mood to do something wild that night. After the reaming I’d gotten from my father about the ten-thousand-dollar donation, I needed to do something to blow off steam.
Now I was trapped, and while excitement seeped into my bones at the idea of Ryker and me naked, a smidge of fear tamped it down. I wasn’t afraid of him. I was afraid of me—afraid I would make a fool of myself by ripping his clothes off.
He stared at me with a grin that was all sin as his big body barricaded the door, daring me to leave, daring me to try to get past him.
But my feet were rooted to the carpeted floor as I debated my next move or waited for his.
The heavier his eyelids became, the more heat shot down and settled in between my legs, and he knew it. The jerk knew it. That grin on his face only got wider.
My chest rose and fell until voices resounded in the hall. If another woman attempted to come in, I might succumb to a catfight.
Ryker pushed off the door like a lion getting ready to pounce.
My pulse flew off the charts.
He took one step then another.
Bang. Bang. Bang. My heart rammed against my ribs, and I licked my dry lips.
He cocked an eyebrow.
Move, Haven. It’s now or never. Decide. Stay or go.
My body wouldn’t move, and the closer he got, the more my feet sank into the carpet.
He came to a stop with barely any room between us. My only way out was to crawl onto his bed and escape from the other side.
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