Getting Over It: Sapphire Falls Book Six (10 page)

A little piece of her melted at that. She’d never been anyone’s ultimate prize before.

But she swallowed hard on the heels of that thought. She wasn’t really his ultimate prize. The prize he wanted was the Hailey he thought she was—confident, strong, take-charge Mayor Hailey, a woman who was as much a fighter as he was.

“I don’t like quitters,” she said, lifting her chin. “That isn’t the guy I thought I was having a relationship with.”

His eyes narrowed. “You are not with me because I’m an Olympian.”

“You’re so sure of that?” She put the chill in her voice that made most people back down immediately.

Of course, Ty was not most people.

He pressed closer and lifted her onto the table. “I
am
so sure of that. My medals don’t mean anything to you.”

“Nothing at all?” she asked. “Wow, and I thought you knew me.”

He slipped his hands under her skirt, grasped the sides of her panties and pulled them down and off.

Her breath caught and her whole body heated.

“You’re not fucking me because of that silver medal,” he said.

“It wasn’t about the silver,” she said. “It was about the gold.”

He reached for the straps of her dress and pulled the bodice away from her braless breasts. “I didn’t have a gold any of the times I made you come so hard you couldn’t remember your own name.”

He cupped one of her breasts, running his thumb over the sensitive tip. She bit back the moan and tried to close her legs, to press against the spot that was throbbing with need for him. But he was there, between her knees, keeping her spread open.

“That gold was everything to you. It’s what you’ve been working for as long as we’ve been sleeping together.”

“My medals don’t matter to you,” he repeated, rolling one of her nipples between his thumb and finger and then tugging. “When you think about me, it’s not about the races and where I finish.”

She was already on the verge of begging him to take her—something he
loved
. But that would be giving in. And if he thought that
he
was all that mattered to her, getting him back to Denver would never happen.

“You’re happy being number two?” she asked, working hard not to sound breathless as he continued to tease her breasts. “You’re satisfied knowing there will now be
three
other gold medalists in front of you?”

He hadn’t competed in the last games, and she’d believed he hadn’t cared, but now she wondered. She followed the sport. She couldn’t help it. And she knew the man who had won the gold in the last games had also beat Ty in three other races leading up to those games. Ty had never beaten him. Had he been scared? Worried that he’d be number two again?

That man wasn’t competing this time around. He’d retired, leaving Ty as the one to beat.

Until now.

“I’m the best at a lot of things, Hailey,” he said, moving a hand between her legs and running a finger over her mound. “You have been a far greater challenge than any race course. And look where I’ve got you now.”

Like the clichéd light bulb, it was all suddenly clear. Ty had chased two things over the past eleven years that had both stayed just out of reach. The Olympic gold medal. And her.

Oh…
crap.

Even as she was amazed and warmed by that—no one had ever wanted her like Ty did—alarm shot through her. She could
not
be that important to him. She hadn’t been hard to get because
he
wasn’t good enough to win her over. It was because
she
wasn’t good enough. She wasn’t gold-medal material. He couldn’t put her on the same level as that…and believe that all he needed was to marry her and he’d be completely satisfied with his life.

She’d known he’d put her on a pedestal. She’d known in high school that he’d thought of her as this older, more sophisticated, out-of-reach, too-good-for-him woman. And she’d basked in that. Thought it was cute and sweet. But he’d grown out of it. The playing field had evened out after he’d rocked her world at the river that first summer night. And then, when she’d gone to Denver needing something from him, the playing field had definitely tipped in his favor.

He gave her the ability to unwind away from her responsibilities, to give everything over to someone else, to enjoy and be enjoyed without worrying about messing everything up.

She knew he wanted her, but she needed what he gave her more than anything she gave him.

She was
not
everything he’d ever dreamed of.

She pushed against his chest, squirming to get off the table. She could not let this go any further.

He grabbed her by the hips, held her still and dipped his knees so he could look into her eyes. “Hey, I’m not done with you.” His voice was still husky and his touch was firm, but the way he looked at her was soft, almost tender.

And it nearly undid her.

She took a deep breath. “I can’t be the answer to all your problems, Ty.”

“Yes, you can.”

Dammit
. He was stubborn, that she knew well.

“I have a life already. A life I love, that I’ve worked hard to create. You can’t just move back here and expect me to make everything about
you
and fixing the things that have gone wrong for you.”

“You have a life already,” he agreed. “And I’m not asking you to change it. But I want you to let me in so I can make it even better.”

If winning a gold medal would have made him
more
cocky, he wouldn’t have been able to get his head through standard doorways.

She huffed out a frustrated breath. She could never live up to the fantasy he’d built of them together over the years. Not the sexual fantasies—those she did all right with—but the other fantasies. The ones she was only now fully understanding. Winning over the woman no one else could get, thawing the Ice Queen’s heart, turning the bossy bitch into a loving wife and mother. Oh God.

“You need to stop thinking so hard.” He leaned in and captured her lips with his.

The kiss was slow and sweet to start. But it quickly heated when she squirmed against him again, hoping that if his guard was down, she could get her feet to the floor. And then run.

But how could she forget that Ty
liked
the fight? He loved thinking she was tough, that she only gave in after he’d made her want to submit.

She shoved him back. “Not everything can be fighting and fucking, Ty.”

He let her stand but kept her up against his hard chest, rippled abs and thick, hot cock with his hands around her upper arms.

She pulled in a shaky breath.

“You don’t want to fight with me? Great. Get on your knees.”

She shivered as the command went through her. The guy knew her and knew how to make her want what he wanted. And he was completely naked and she was mostly naked and the chances of her walking out of the room without him touching her any further were pretty small.

They had more to talk about. She shouldn’t get distracted. She was
right
about the fighting and fucking.

But he was using that voice. And he had that look in his eyes. And he was wounded.

Physically and emotionally. Part of her needed to feel his strength,
feel
that he was physically fine. And part of her wanted to make him feel better. Even though she knew it was a bad idea and he had things built up in his head that weren’t true and weren’t real.

Sex made them both feel better, of course. But right now, he didn’t know that she
wasn’t
everything he wanted and needed her to be. So maybe, for tonight, she could still be the Hailey Conner he had conquered and seduced—mind, heart and body. And if that made him feel better, she was fine with waiting one more day to ruin his perception of her.

And those thoughts meant the chances of her leaving the room without him touching her further were zero.

One more night of pretending wouldn’t hurt.

Chapter Four

She looked him directly in the eye for a long moment. Then she slid to the floor, dragging her body against his. She took his cock in both hands and stroked up and down the length, her eyes still on his.

His hand went to her hair again and he brought her forward. She opened her mouth and let him glide the head of his cock past her lips. She swirled her tongue around the head and then sucked lightly, watching his eyes darken and relishing how he tightened his grip on her hair.

“Take me,” he said gruffly, moving his hips, pressing his cock deeper.

She opened wider, cupping his balls at the same time.

“Yes, damn, Hailey.” He moved in and out of her mouth in short, gentle thrusts.

She tried to focus on the fact that this man was a finely honed athlete, that his gorgeous body was a machine he used to make a living, that he had stood on the Olympic podium representing his country, that he pushed himself and strove for greatness every day.

Those were all things she should admire and that should turn her on.

But that wasn’t what did it. He was just Ty. He could have flipped burgers or worked the register at the gas station or bartended or been the President of the United States. She would have wanted, and—yes, dammit—
liked
him as much. She knew it.

And he knew it.

Did she admire him? Yes. Did his drive and ambition intimidate the hell out of her? Yes. Was his body worthy of every ounce of worship she could muster? Absolutely.

But in that moment, she was just Hailey and he was just Ty. And she wanted him with an intensity that never diminished, no matter how many times they were together.

She increased her rhythm, working her hand along his length and soaking in the sounds of his groans and the way he gripped her head.

Finally, he pulled her to her feet and took her with him as he sat back on the chair. She straddled his lap and Ty lifted her over him. She sank down, taking him in as they groaned together.

There was no pause, no deep breath. Ty curled his fingers into her hips as he immediately moved her up and down. Hailey followed his direction, only the balls of her feet touching the floor and barely giving her enough leverage to lift and lower herself.

Their pace was frantic. He was as deep as he could be and yet she felt as if she wanted to pull him in and absorb him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing every inch of her body against his. Ribbons of heat and need spiraled through her, coming from everywhere—her breasts against his chest, his hands holding and moving her, their ragged breathing, the way he stretched and filled her. Then, all at once, her climax swept over her. It was so sudden, she cried out from the surprise as much as the intense pleasure and was still reeling when Ty shouted her name with his release.

She slumped against him a moment later, spent.

She felt as though the heat they’d generated had melted all of her bones and muscles. Even her brain felt mushy. She was completely content to stay draped over him like a blanket for the next several days.

“You’re amazing,” he whispered against her hair.

And she wanted to be. For him. She really did.

“Stay,” he whispered a few minutes later.

“Yes.”

Because she really did like being the woman he’d always dreamed of.

And hell, he lived next door now. It wasn’t like she wouldn’t see him. They could talk about gold medals and races and fighting and marriage anytime.

But she definitely noted when he carried her upstairs to his bed that his knee seemed to be doing fine.

Sunday morning, Hailey woke to the sound of the shower running. Which, considering she lived alone, was strange. Until she remembered she was at Ty’s. In Sapphire Falls.

Oh boy.

She rolled to look at the clock. Eight a.m. She had an hour to get to church.

In Denver, she never had to worry about what time it was or about getting anywhere.

She threw the covers back and sat up.

Ty had awakened her twice more in the night and she was sore and exhausted.

And happy.

Until she remembered that she was waking up at Ty’s
with
a schedule.

That definitely tarnished the happiness of being with Ty.

She sighed.

Okay. Well, she didn’t have time to deal with any of that, and Ty was in the shower, so this was her chance to escape.

Her clothes were downstairs, so she grabbed one of Ty’s T-shirts and pulled it on as she headed for the steps. She gathered her dress from the dining room but couldn’t find her panties. She supposed she should be grateful this one time that she only lived next door.

Clutching her dress to her chest, her sandals dangling from her fingers, she let herself out the backdoor. But as she pulled the kitchen door shut and turned to descend the steps, she found herself face-to-face with a Bennett after all.

And this one was much worse.

She pasted on what she hoped looked like a sincere smile. “Good morning, Mrs. Bennett.”

Kathy Bennett’s eyes were wide. Understandably.

“Good…morning.” She took in Hailey’s attire and then tried to pretend that she hadn’t. “Ty invited us all for brunch later. I was dropping the cinnamon rolls off before church.”