Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
A smile curled at the edges of his lips, and he slid his hands back into my hair, fingertips curling behind my skull, thumbs tilting my chin up. He kissed me even slower this time, his lips firm, his intent clear.
And I believed him.
Which was the equivalent of standing on the edge of a fourteen-thousand-foot mountain.
“Real enough for you?” he asked, his voice low against my lips.
“It’ll do.”
He chuckled. “Where’s your phone?”
I pulled it out of the back pocket of my jean shorts, and he smiled, sliding his thumb over the screen. I didn’t have a password on it, so it unlocked on that alone, and he pulled up the camera app. He pressed record next, pulling me under his arm as he did.
“Tell me something good, Grace.”
I flushed so hard it looked like a sunburn, and I buried that blush in his chest, peeking up at him before I looked at the camera.
“Jaxson Brittain just kissed me at a crowded airport.”
“And I’ll do it again, too,” he said.
And he did. He held the phone with one hand and held me to him with the other, searing me with another dizzying, spellbinding kiss.
My head was still spinning long after he left and my parents picked me up, chatting excitedly about the tournament and how they couldn’t wait to see Vince. I didn’t even care that they didn’t ask me where I’d been or what I’d been doing. I didn’t care that I had to endure another day that revolved around my big brother.
Because at the end of it, I’d be back in the arms of his teammate.
That was a reward well worth keeping a little secret.
Figure It Out
Jaxson
Maven and Livia swept Grace away the moment she showed up to the tournament with her parents.
They linked their arms through hers and off they went, Maven pressing a quick kiss to Vince’s cheek as they passed by us. They had their hearts set on margaritas at the club house, and to her credit, Grace didn’t so much as cast me a lingering glance as they toted her off.
I, on the other hand, was so fucking aware of her presence the entire tournament that I was surprised I didn’t have OBSESSED WITH GRACE TANEV written in neon on my forehead.
Even with it feeling a little like a reunion being back with my teammates, and even with my body humming to life at the chance to have a little friendly competition — my mind couldn’t stop replaying what had happened the night before.
I was a dumb motherfucker.
It had sounded so logical at the time, when my cock-driven brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders. I’d thought it would be fine to bend the rules, to play with Grace… as long as I didn’t actually touch her.
I laughed out loud at that, earning me a look from Daddy P as he lined up for his first shot at the third hole. It was a fucking joke, that I’d actually used that mindset as justification. In turn, it had been maybe even hotter than if I had just given in and taken her the way I wanted to.
Keeping my hands to myself and watching her writhe in those sheets as she found her release didn’t put out the fire burning between us. It stoked it, gave it oxygen, sprayed it with a gallon of gasoline.
I only wanted her more.
There was a battle in my head, two sides of me warring with each other while I attempted to remain calm and cool on the surface during the tournament. I laughed and joked with my teammates, took photographs for the press, played one of my best games of golf, and talked about everything and everyone else but me.
All while a highlight reel of the faces Grace made when she came played on repeat in my mind.
It had felt impossible to leave her hotel room for the night, to let her get some sleep and to give us both some much-needed distance. And I knew by how quiet the drive had been today that Grace was in her head just like I was.
We both knew it couldn’t happen again.
And yet, it was all either of us could think about.
By the time we’d made it to the airport, I was sick to my stomach wondering what she was thinking. I was also desperate to ease the worry I saw etched into every single feature on her pretty face. So, I’d comforted her — and not with a lie, but with the truth.
I didn’t want this to end.
But even as I’d said that to her, even as I’d been greedy enough to steal another kiss before her parents got there… I knew that, eventually, it had to.
She was twenty-two years old with an entire life ahead of her — one that looked vastly different from the one I was leading. She wanted to be on the move. I would be in Tampa at least until my contract ended, and then I hoped to get re-signed or find another team to settle down with. Where she wanted adventure, I wanted stability.