Game for It: Game for Trouble Part 14

"Mmm, I like the sound of that." She ground against him. All that wet heat was a complete tease on his aching d.i.c.k. d.a.m.n, she felt good. Too good. He could probably come like this if she kept that up.

"Grab a condom before I explode," he said through clenched teeth, desperate to be inside her. It took no time, and he wanted her. He always wanted her-didn't think he'd grow tired of her anytime soon, either.

"Yes, sir." She plucked one from the bedside table and within moments, he was suited up, moving inside her. She kept a slow, sensuous rhythm, riding him shamelessly, her head back, her eyes closed, hands braced on his chest, b.r.e.a.s.t.s bouncing.

f.u.c.k, she was beautiful like this. He was tired of pretending what they were doing meant nothing. Time to take it to the next step.

But would she want to?

He hadn't lied when he told her she kept him on his toes. He was never sure what she could be thinking, what she wanted to do next. If she might turn on him or be sweet and accepting-though lately she was more on the sweet and accepting side, thank Christ. She still liked to indulge in the sa.s.sy att.i.tude, which he didn't mind.

Was she putting up some sort of facade, though? Pretending with him, going through the motions? The s.e.x between them was phenomenal. He knew she felt the connection they shared.

He just wasn't sure if she was willing to take it further.

"Nick." She moaned his name, and he opened his eyes to find her watching him, grinding on him, her hips working. He gripped her waist to slow her down because d.a.m.n, he wanted this to last.

But his woman had other plans in mind.

"Feels so good," she whispered, her eyes shuttering closed. She was into it, lost in her own little world, and he watched in total amazement as her brows furrowed, her mouth pursed. "G.o.d, you feel so good, Nick. Please..."

"Willow." Her eyes opened when he said her name and he slipped his hands behind her back, pus.h.i.+ng her down so her face was on his. "Kiss me, princess."

She latched her lips to his, kissing him hungrily. He cupped the back of her head, keeping her mouth on his as he thrust deep inside her, desperately chasing his o.r.g.a.s.m, hopefully catching hers, too.

Whimpering against his mouth, she started to shake, little cries escaping her as she came, sending him straight into his own o.r.g.a.s.m.

So easily, it d.a.m.n near killed him.

"I wanna ask you something," he said hours later. They lay tangled in the covers, sated and sleepy, his fingers in her hair, her lips to his chest.

"No, I really don't like seafood," she said, her voice a soft tease. He could literally feel her smile against his skin.

Which made him smile in the darkness even though she couldn't see him. "I get that. Well, I don't get it, but whatever. I have something else I want to ask you."

"What?"

"I was wondering..." He swallowed hard, irritated with his chicken s.h.i.+t behavior. "It's almost Christmas, you know."

She stiffened. It was subtle, but he knew that soft, curvy body of hers well enough to feel it. "Yeah."

"What are you doing for the holidays?"

Lifting up on one arm, she squinted at him, making him thankful it was mostly dark. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just asking." He added a shrug, but she kept on looking at him, so intently he wanted to squirm.

"My dad is going to Aspen," she said once she settled back against his chest.

"Sw.a.n.ky. You going with him?" Her dad. He'd almost forgotten all about Walter. He certainly didn't want to think about him now when he was in bed with Willow.

Would Walter still be upset about Nick dating his daughter again? Or would he finally let her live her own life and make her own choices?

"I can't. I have to work," she said simply.

"You have to work on Christmas?" Yeah, he'd played games on Christmas Eve before, but this seemed extreme.

"No, but the weekend before I'm going to Vegas and working a bachelorette party." She launched into the story. How it was for a girl she went to school with. That it was a combined bachelorette/extension business launch party with more than five hundred confirmed guests so far. Sounded crazy.

Also sounded like it had the potential to send her business to the next level, what with all the contacts.

"The timing just doesn't work. Too many holiday parties and things scheduled through the New Year. I can't get away," she finished with a little sigh.

"Are you sure? I mean, I know you have those part-time employees who could help you, right? Maybe they could cover for you," he suggested. d.a.m.n, maybe he shouldn't ask her. Sounded pointless, considering she couldn't leave.

"They need to stay here for the other events I have scheduled. I hired extra help to take with me to Vegas. That gig is too important not to have them on hand helping out. I mean, I don't have anything actually scheduled on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but I have things going on right before and right after." She paused. "Why are you asking? What are you doing for Christmas?"

"I'm going home. To Texas so I can spend the holiday with my family."

"Oh."

He swallowed hard. Here he was his chance. He needed to just do it. "I was sorta hoping you could go with me."

Chapter Thirteen.

"What?" Willow scrambled away from him, sitting up so she could stare at him. But it was too d.a.m.n dark, and she really couldn't make out his face. "Are you serious?"

He sat up as well. "I want you to come home with me, Will. I want you to meet my mama."

Oh. My. G.o.d. His mama? He sounded so d.a.m.n serious. And sweet and cute and loving and...no. None of that. She was being ridiculous. "Is this why you acted so agitated earlier? Because you were working up the nerve to ask me to go home with you and meet your mama?"

"Don't make fun. I'm just a simple, good ol' mama's boy who likes to go home as much as I can-you know this," he muttered as he leaned over and flicked on the lamp. The moment he caught sight of her face, his eyes narrowed, his lips clamped shut.

Well, great. Now he got a good look at her panicked, disbelieving expression. "Actually, I don't know. I mean, we talk. We hang out. We have a lot of s.e.x. And it's fantastic. The kind a woman never forgets, you know? But I don't know much about your family life, and you really don't know much about mine either."

"If you'd let me in, maybe I'd know more," he said bitterly. "And maybe if you asked and acted like you were interested, I'd tell you more."

"But this isn't real," she said. "Our relations.h.i.+p is nothing. It never has been."

"It's f.u.c.king everything to me. I want to take you home to meet my parents, Will. I want to make you mine in every way I can." His lips thinned. "I told Harvey we're together. And he's going to make it public."

Her eyes went so wide she was afraid they'd pop out of her head. "What?"

"You heard me." He nodded grimly. "Walter needs to know we're together and since you're in no hurry to tell him, I figured this was the best way."

"That is the last thing he needs to find out." She clamped her lips shut as soon as she saw the deadly gleam in Nick's gaze.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice almost as dark as his glare. "Why are you hiding this?"

Okay. Where did that come from? "What are we doing here, Nick?"

"What do you mean, what are we doing here?"

"Us. What's happening between us? These forced dates have morphed into something way more serious." She looked at him pointedly, tucking the sheet under her arms. Had he wanted something more from the beginning? Or had this been the only way he could get her into bed again? Either way, she wasn't feeling too sure about her feelings for Nick at the moment. "And you don't do serious."

She didn't either-not with Nick, at least. She'd tried her best to keep distance between them, and he'd somehow wormed his way into her heart anyway.

Clearly, she was an idiot.

He stared at her, looking dumbfounded. And gorgeous, what with the way the sheet pooled in his lap, revealing acres of smooth, finely muscled skin. "I told you I wanted to prove to you that I can do serious."

"By blowing my mind every time we get together with endless o.r.g.a.s.ms?" G.o.d, she was being so unfair, but his words freaked her out. She clutched the sheet tighter, almost like it was a s.h.i.+eld.

But nothing could protect her from the daggers he shot at her with his eyes. "By spending all my free time with you and treating you with respect. It hasn't been all s.e.x between us; you do realize that, right? Or is that all you can focus on? The s.e.xy dirty times we experience when we get together and nothing else?"

She hung her head. Couldn't stand seeing the way he looked at her any longer. Like this was killing him. d.a.m.n it, he was right. They might've been indulging in lots of s.e.x but they also talked. She was comfortable with him. Had started opening up to him, which was a huge mistake.

Huge.

"I'm scared," she whispered, staring at her hands in her lap. "I'm scared if I give my heart to you, you'll stomp all over it. And I don't think I could take that again."

"Will, I know I f.u.c.ked up that first time we were together. I was young and stupid and didn't know what I had with you. I'm sorry that I hurt you when I left you like I did, but I...I had my reasons. Stuff I don't want to get into because it's in the past and it's all just a bunch of excuses." He blew out a frustrated breath, and she glanced up, caught him running his hand through his already messy hair, his biceps bulging with the movement. "We probably wouldn't have worked out, you know. I was a c.o.c.ky a.s.shole h.e.l.l-bent on doing whatever the f.u.c.k I wanted. And I wasn't about to answer to anyone."

She pressed her lips together. He was probably right. Hard to admit but true.

"We were too young. h.e.l.l, Will, you were only nineteen and so f.u.c.king amazing. I didn't want to leave you. I swear I didn't but I had to." He sighed and shook his head, his gaze meeting hers. "You're still amazing. I want you in my life."

"Wait a minute, what did you just say?" When he looked at her blankly, she continued. "You said you didn't want to leave me. Why did you, then?"

His eyes widened the slightest bit but other than that, no outward reaction. "Because I had to," he said defensively. "Don't look into it more than you should, Will. I mean it."

"Why do I suddenly not believe you?" Icy cold uneasiness slipped through her, filling her with fear. "Why did you leave, Nick? You told me that you wanted to be free. That we wouldn't have worked out."

"We wouldn't have."

"According to who?" This didn't feel right. He acted almost as if he wanted to...protect someone? Or was she way off base and reading into his words too much?

"According to your..." He clamped his lips shut and shook his head, as if he was about to reveal something she didn't want to hear but then decided against it.

It all became clear. She knew the answer. And she didn't want to hear it. "Don't tell me my dad said something to make you break up with me."

"Okay, I won't tell you." He shrugged nonchalantly, looking anything but nonchalant.

"Which means he did." Closing her eyes, she hung her head again, breathing deep. Trying to gather her messy emotions before they spilled all over the place. "Right?"

He was silent for so long, she cracked open her eyes to find him watching her, his mouth hard, his eyes dark. He looked furious. "He found out about us a week before we split. Kept hounding me, telling me to leave you alone and end it. And when I didn't make a move, he said he would end it for me by going to you himself."

Swallowing hard, she tried to speak, but the words were clogged in her throat.

"So I did it. As much as it killed me, I broke it off. I didn't want him making up whatever lies to get you to leave me first. He told me again and again I wasn't worth s.h.i.+t and if I knew what was good for me, I'd get my dirty paws off his daughter and never talk to her again. I guess after hearing it enough, I started to believe it."

Her mouth dropped open. "I'm sure he wasn't that harsh."

"Darlin', trust me. I'm sugarcoating it for you."

She stared at him in disbelief, and he stared back, not saying a word. Not denying his words or her father's either. "Why would he do that?" she finally asked, her voice a harsh whisper.

"He didn't like me." He shrugged. "He was trying to protect you? You're his only child. Can't blame him I guess."

"I don't understand why he would hate you so much and want us apart." She slowly shook her head. "He deals with athletes all the time." Realization dawned the moment the words fell from her lips.

Of course her father didn't like them. The majority of his clients were professional athletes. His opinion of them wasn't always the best because he knew what they were really like. Having one involved with his too young daughter had probably set him off. He'd always been so protective. She was his only child; her mother was never a part of the picture. They were all each other ever had-besides his string of ex-wives, and they really didn't count.

And she'd done her best to keep her relations.h.i.+p with Nick a secret. Even from her best friend. She knew her involvement with him would earn their disapproval.

h.e.l.l, she still did it now. Sneaking around, hoping like crazy her dad wouldn't find out she was seeing Nick again. Why couldn't she be honest with him?

"I don't think he's much of a fan of my peers, if you know what I mean," Nick drawled. "He deals with us. Takes our money if we need his help. And I'll give it to him: Walter Cavanaugh is a d.a.m.n good lawyer. He just doesn't like the thought of 'my kind' messing with his little girl."

How backwards could her father be? All these years she blamed Nick-callous, cold-hearted, love 'em and leave 'em Nick-when all along, her father had been behind their breakup. "So you left me because my father made you. And now you're back, bound and determined to use whatever you have to get back into my bed." Pain lanced through her, sharp and deep.

"No. h.e.l.l, no. I was hurt. p.i.s.sed," Nick said, his voice scary soft. "Us being together has nothing to do with your father and everything to do with me and you. You know this, right? I mean, come on. You gotta know this. Or do you think I'm set on getting back at your dad by toying with you again? Because if you do, then you don't know me at all."

"I don't know what to think. I'm scared, Nick. Scared to hand you my heart only for you to stomp all over it again." She scooted away from him, wis.h.i.+ng he would leave. Her skin was cold, her heart broken. She couldn't trust him, ever. He hurt her every single time they were together.

How could she be so stupid?

"I don't know how many times I can tell you that I'm a changed man before you believe me. But maybe you'll never believe me. You act like you don't want anyone to know about us being together anyway, so what did I expect?"

Nick was right. They hadn't hid any of their dates, not really. But she hadn't announced they were together either, of course. She'd seen people she knew when they were out, which wasn't much, since they spent the majority of their time behind closed doors naked. And of course, they'd indulged in their one crazy night together at the Wharf, when he'd taken her on the roof of that restaurant where anyone could've seen them, for the love of G.o.d. She'd ignored the risks of getting caught, forgetting everything but the way he made her feel.

And G.o.d, could he make her feel.

Had he done it on purpose, though? Convincing her to have s.e.x in a public place...all in the hopes that maybe her father-or anyone, for that matter-would somehow find out about it? Not that locals hung out on the Wharf or anything, but still.

"You're ashamed of me," he said, his voice deathly quiet. "Don't bother denying it. You're hiding this from your dad, from everyone."

"That's not true," she started, but he silenced her with a look.

"I want you in my life but not like this. Not if we're keeping secrets from each other still," he said.