Briar's Champion (11 page)

“B
riar
?” He spoke into the
microphone
, having the nerve to
beam a smile at her.

“You are worse than the snake behind you. Did you have fun? Did all of you laugh?” She turned her rage on every team member in front of her. Cameras whirred behind her
,
but she didn’t care
.
T
hose same
members
of the
media
killed her heart
with their
cameras
six months previous
ly
.

“What are you talking
about, Briar
?”
Sloan
hushed the crowd with a look.

“
Unbelievable
.
Y
ou can hush an entire audience with one
glance
, but
I’ll be damned if you silence me.
Am I
supposed
to be the pity of
my home
town again?
Is there no escaping the scandal that ripped me apart? Do you all find humor in tearing me down further?
This is surreal.
”
Oh he played blind ignorance well. He had to know. After all
,
as
the new owner of her ex’s baseball team
, he should know all the
players’
public pitfalls
.

“Would someone, anyone
,
care t
o
clue me in
to what she’s ranting about?”
His eyes turned obsidian black, the way his jaw ticked as he spoke sent
a
ripple of unease through her. This wasn’t a man to mess with.
But h
e sealed his fate by taking advantage of her.

“I repeat, would someone tell me what is going on here?” He gripped the podium.
Vehemence laced his voice when he repeated his question.

No one in th
e press
bothered
to make the first move.

Pathetically, only
Westly
had the nerve to
step forward. “She’s my ex
and
s
he’s
bitter
,
so
don’t listen to her.
We didn’t last. I met and
married someone else
.
It’s
not my
fault she
can’t get over
me
and move on with her life
.”

“Someone besides this
idiotic prick
care to enlighten me?” He snarled at Westly.

A local reporter decided to fill Sloan in on what led to this scene.
“
Mr.
Jonston scandalized
the public
when
he
cut
Ms.
Thompson off
without a dime
…
while they lived together
.
We received word from a
reliable
source
that
he
closed all accounts and married another woman
right under her nose
. When the pictures came
out, the unveiled bride wasn’t Ms.
Thompson
.
They’d been together since high school
.
He used to play up their re
lationship
to us so the story
shocked the community
.
”

Sloan glanced her way, but once again she was removed to the day she found out, exposed and vulnerable.
Ashamed she hadn’t seen the end coming.
Shaken.

Sloan turned to Westly. “You have to be shitting m
e.
Are we
being punked
?
”
He gave Westly a scathing scowl
.
“
Fucking prick.
”
He
crossed the small space, through the other players
and slugged
Westly
in the nose.
The sound
of cartilage breaking
echoed
in
the
coliseum.
“Get t
his
jackass off the stage.”

He turned to the manager and Commissioner Jackson. “
As the new
o
wner of the Devils, I want his shit packed up and out of the locker room within the hour.
I have zero tolerance for taking bets in general. More when they’re bets from a player against his own team.
Everyone listen up. Heed my words.
To work for me, or play for me
,
I demand
the highest
level of integrity and honor
, on and off the field
.
A
nyone who doesn’t possess those qualities will be removed from the
team.
In
the event I am needed at my other business, the manager will take over in my absence.
”

He then
stepped off the podium
,
and
s
tormed
out into the sea of people
who parted for him
. He
found B
riar
,
and moved the reporters out of her face. He snaked his hand out and drew her into his arms
.
“
I didn’t know. I’m sorry
.
I’d have told you what I did for a living if I’d known. Believe me when I tell you
I’d never be the cause of your hurt and embarrassment.” He kissed her
fore
head. “
I broke his nose
.
”
He winked at her
.

Briar
groan
ed
.
“You didn’t have to
.
I’m sorry for this
.
”
She’d assumed the worst, judged him unfairly instead of asking.

“No problem
.
”
H
e bent to whisper in her ear.
“
Next time
,
go all accusatory and hellcat in my place, so I can fuck you
hard
again
.
”
H
e kissed her behind her ear
, smiling at the cameras.

“Are you and
Ms.
Thompson an item?
”
a
reporter asked with pen and pad
on the
ready.

“You better believe it
.
A
nd
,
I know how to take care of what’s mine.”

“We just met last night.” Why did he want more after her insane explosion?

“Everyone has to begin somewhere.”
He caressed her chin
and
then kissed her softly.

Briar
couldn’t help but
chuckle as s
he allowed Sloan to whisk her away.
No one understood
firsthand
the damage done to her, but he got her
.
The reasons for his need for privacy began to make sense. A look into his personal and professional lifestyle, if the conference was anything to go by, spoke volumes on how media could affect a person’s personal life.

S
he stifled a case of the giggles
as
he flipped his designer sunglasses on and gave the reporters a parting grin.
It’s a crime to be that sexy.

L
ean
ing
over to the driver’s seat with the intention of touching him
, h
eat suffused her face
as h
is gaze
sent spikes of heady sensations ricocheting between her legs
. S
he
’d
bet all the money in her bank he knew what she
had planned
. “I want to go all hellcat on you right now,” she teased before she ran the
tip
of her tongue against his lobe. His heated skin warmed her palms.
S
he wound her hand up his chest to play with
the
hair curling at his nape
. H
e
leaned back and licked her lower lip. Desire clouded her judgment, so much so, she forgot about the press just outside his car,
how she embarrassed them both
by taking
what she wanted.
Sh
e didn’t stand a chance when
he
kissed h
er
, teased h
er
lips
open. He tasted of darkness, of sin, and damn
it if she wasn’t glad she was his.

A moan left her mouth, or his, she couldn’t tell
.
S
he had lost herself in the taste of him. Firm lips melted with hers. She broke off the kiss
and
sucked her bottom lip into her mouth.
“Take me
to your place
.
” His expression caused her core to explode in wetness. He held that wild look, all
serious
and aroused,
as if
irritated that they couldn’t continue.