Out of the Game3 (12 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Claire had told Erin she’d be careful, that it would only be a fling. What a crock. Alex had charmed her so thoroughly she was in serious danger of falling for him in a big way. Her heart had not only broken curfew, she was afraid it was never coming home, at least not in one piece.

But it wasn’t like she could do anything about it now. She didn’t
want
to do anything about it now. She’d deal with her emotions later when she could think. Right now, all she wanted to do was keep looking into his beautiful eyes and feel him thick and hard inside her.

“Shit, Claire, you feel so good. I could fuck you forever.”

What a totally Alex comment. She cupped his face and kissed him. “You say that to all the girls.”

“Do not.” Grinning, he sat up, wrapped an arm around her and twisted so that she was on her back and he was on top, missionary style. “Because it’s not true with them.”

Alex always hit her with a one-two punch. The first comment usually shocked her and the second one felt like a rough hug.

“Forever is a long time. You know, over four hours and you’re supposed to consult a doctor.”

He laughed. Then, with a heavy-lidded gaze, he put his mouth to her ear and said, “Okay. I’ll just fuck you until you come again.”

She almost did come right then. The gruff sound of his voice, the hot breath, the delicious hard thrust of him between her legs. He kept up a frank running commentary so alien to her but exciting at the same time. No one had ever talked to her like that.

She liked it.

Eventually he fell silent, but his breath was still loud in her ear. He was laboring now. His thrusts were coming faster and harder. He reached back and levered her leg up to her chest so it folded like a pocket knife. Oh, God, all of a sudden, the sensations intensified.

“That’s it,” he said with an intense smile. “You feel that?”

“Yes,” she gasped.

“I’m going deep now. Deep inside you.”

“Oh, God.” She could feel every steely hard inch.

“I’m too fucking close, Claire.”

“Don’t.” She gripped his head between her hands. His damp hair poked out from between her fingers. “I’m almost there.”

“Fuck.” He closed his eyes. He hunched his shoulders.

He was going at her hard now. She gasped, straining, needing. He gave her everything he had and—oh, God, please,
please
—suddenly, it was enough.

She arched her back as a burst of ecstasy seized her and wouldn’t let go. The pleasure cascaded over her entire body until, a brief moment later, his orgasm ripped through him.

“
Fuck fuck fuck
,” he gasped, still pumping.

He took her mouth in a fierce kiss as he came. His gorgeous body went rigid as he emptied himself inside her, buried to the hilt. She felt the muscles of his ass clench and flex as the tempo of his thrusts gradually slowed. Eventually, they both came back down, he ground himself against her one last time and rested.

She was hyperaware of everything about him—the salty taste of his sweat, the coarse hair on his legs, the hot gusts of breath against her neck, his thick cock still lodged inside. She loved having him on top of her. It was as if his weight was the only thing that had kept her from flying into space.

She looked up. His face was red. His hair had gone spiky from exertion and sweat, but his expression was tender as he brushed her lips with his.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes, of course, I’m okay.” She was still enjoying the delicious echoes of her orgasm. “I’m wonderful.”

“I’m only asking because my dick felt like it was going off like a fucking machine gun.”

She laughed and wondered if she should start writing down these Alex-isms. “You can rest easy. I am unharmed.”

He smiled. “Good. It didn’t hurt?”

“No, not really. It was a little...uncomfortable at first, but that didn’t last long.”

Relief flickered in his eyes as he gave her one more thorough leisurely kiss before disengaging and rolling away. She watched him walk to the bathroom, presumably to get rid of the condom, and enjoyed the sight of his flexing glutes. The man had such a tight-assed walk and his thighs looked as if they were strong enough to hold a squat for days. She shuddered to think what his workout must be.

“Hey, are you tired?” he asked, when he came out of the bathroom. “You wanna go at it again? Or watch a movie?”

Again, she couldn’t help but think about how different Alex was from Vic. Vic always went right to sleep and more often than not, she lay there, still aroused and unsatisfied. Alex seemed to have energy to spare.

“I’m—”

“We’ll watch one of yours this time.” He gestured at her to stay where she was and then sprinted downstairs naked, taking the steps several at a time, judging from the delay between stomps. A moment later, he returned with
A
Little Romance
and popped it into the DVD player before hopping into bed and pulling her close.

“Dinner, sex and a movie beats dinner and a movie anytime.”

Slightly drowsy, she snuggled close and laid her head on his chest as the beginning credits rolled.

“Fuck me! Diane Lane is in this? She must have been, what, twelve?”

“Something like that. I think it was her very first movie.”

“Look at those clothes. The hair. That guy’s glasses are huge!”

He went on like this for a little while, but eventually settled down. The story of two adolescents falling in love was as charming as she remembered. During the climactic moments when it seemed as if their dream of kissing under the Bridge of Sighs in Venice would be thwarted, Alex went tense at her side. His hand gripped hers more tightly. She glanced over and he seemed genuinely upset.

When the movie was over, he heaved a sigh and shut the TV off, leaving the room dark. As her eyes struggled to adjust, he moved closer. Immediately, her body lit up with awareness. Her skin tingled, anticipating his touch and when his mouth brushed against hers, she opened to his tongue.

“Did you like it?” she asked between his gentle, coaxing kisses.

“The movie? Yes. I did like it. I liked it a lot.” He nuzzled his way to the breast he had been gleefully kneading. “But if you tell any of the guys that, I’ll deny it.”

She slid her hands over his strong shoulders. “Oh really? Sounds like I just got myself a nice bit of blackmail material.”

He chuckled. “How much do you want to keep quiet?”

“Oh, I don’t want your money.”

“What do you want?” He licked one of her nipples, grazed his teeth over it.

Feeling so much more confident this time around, she reached down, found his cock already hard, and squeezed. “This.”

He made a gruff noise. “Excellent.”

Chapter Eighteen

The park service classified the Angels Landing hike—narrow and steep, with multiple cliff exposures—as “strenuous.” A prominent sign warned that since 2004, six people had died falling from its heights. And yet somehow, Alex convinced Claire she could do it. She was scared. He could see that. He knew her well enough now to see the tension in her shoulders, but she went forward with determination. It made him proud to see her conquer her fears and challenge herself. The view from behind wasn’t bad either. Her ass was a thing of beauty and watching it as they hiked brought back memories of how soft and womanly it had felt in his hands last night.

They stopped many times so she could rest. People passed them by. He told her she was doing great. When the trail got perilous, there were posts with chains strung between them, but no real railings. Even though Alex had amazing balance, he used the chains. He wanted to have a good grip on them if Claire lost her footing and he needed to grab her.

When they neared the apex of the climb, she turned and smiled at him over her shoulder. “Alex! Hurry up. We’re almost there.” It was a beautiful smile of triumph and pride, and his heart did a backflip inside his chest.

“I’m right behind you, Cream Puff.”

With an observable burst of effort, she climbed the last few yards. When she reached the summit, she turned and thrust her arms into the air. Emotion bubbled up inside him at the sight of her dirty, sweat-streaked face lit up with joy.

“I did it!” she cried as he joined her at the top.

Grinning, he hugged her tightly. “I knew you could.”

“This is incredible. I’ve never done anything like this. Erin’s not going to believe it.”

“I’ll take a picture of you and you can send it to her.”

“If you both want to be in it, I’ll take it for you,” someone said.

Claire smiled. “Thanks.”

A woman broke away from her group and Alex handed her his phone. She did a double take but said nothing. Alex was used to people knowing he looked familiar, but being unable to place him or just not sure. If they didn’t say anything, he didn’t either. When he volunteered the information, it felt smarmy.
If you’re wondering whether I’m Alex Sullivan
,
the NHL player
,
why
,
yes
,
I
am.

He posed with Claire, his arm around her waist and thanked the woman afterward. She returned to her group while Alex showed Claire the picture.

“Oh, that’s a good one,” she said as they sat in the partial shade of a scraggly tree. “Send it to me so I can send it to Erin.”

“It’ll be easier if I just send it to Tim.”

She put a hand on his arm. “No, wait.”

“Why?” Then he realized. “You don’t want them to know about us.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Not necessarily. I just want to think about this before we do it.”

“What is there to think about?” He handed her a bottle of water from the backpack. “Weren’t you the one who was upset yesterday about me not posting pictures of us? Wasn’t that you?”

She chugged some water. “Yes, that was me.”

“Then what’s the problem? The indignant thing goes both ways, you know. Why don’t you want them to know about us?”

She winced. “Erin was...concerned that I might get hurt, but you can understand that, can’t you? You have such a reputation.”

“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “I get it. She’s watching out for you.”

“Exactly. Sisters do that. They watch out for each other.”

“Do
you
think you’re going to get hurt?”

She didn’t answer right away.

“I don’t know,” she finally said. “Maybe.”

She looked so sad, he gestured to her. “Come here. I want to tell you something.” He put his arm around her and she snuggled up.

“Okay, remember I’m an honest guy? The kind who shoots straight with you? Here’s what’s going on. When we started this, I thought it was going to be just you and me having a good time together—a fun trip, a lot of sex, good times and then ‘Thanks. I’ll see you around.’ But that’s not how it’s going down. See, I like you too much. You’re...more to me than a 4-day booty call.”

“Should I be flattered?”

“Yeah! I mean, I guess so. This isn’t something that usually happens to me. I’ve liked women before, but...” He gave a little shrug. “I like you more.”

“More than what?”

“Shit. More than any of those other women put together.”

“Really?”

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. Funny thing is, last year, that would have scared me shitless. The idea of being limited to one woman...” He shook his head. “I would tell the rookies, ‘Why force yourself to eat pizza every night forever? Sure, it might be a really great pizza, but once in a while you want spaghetti, or steak, right?’ But it’s different now.” He slowed down and lowered his voice, thinking maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to spill his guts out on top of a mountain where it seemed as if that lady who’d taken their picture was eavesdropping.

“Anyway, I guess what I’m saying is, I’m not...I don’t...” He sighed. “I don’t necessarily want to cut out when the trip is over.”

One corner of her mouth curved up. She turned to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him lightly. “I don’t either.”

“I’m not in love or anything.” He might have said that a little too forcefully.

“Me either!” She shook her head. “Not at all.”

“But I’m willing to see where this thing goes. It might not go anywhere.”

“Right.”

“And I have to warn you again, the haters are going to hate. They’re going to say shitty things about you and maybe
to
you.” He thought about advising her to stay off social media, but decided to see what happened. He couldn’t predict when the assholes would come out of the woodwork. Sometimes they focused on him. Sometimes they didn’t.

“You mean like if we go out to dinner, an anti-fan might approach me and call me a name?”

“Don’t laugh. It could happen.”

“I think I can handle it. Those people don’t really know me. Eleanor Roosevelt said something about the only way people can make you feel inferior is if you let them.”

“Smart woman.”

“Her or me?”

“Both.”

“Plus,” she said, cocking her heat at him, “if someone hassles me, I’ll just call them a pencil dick.”

Laughing, Alex opened his text app. “What do we want to say to Tim and Erin?”

She gestured for his phone and after he gave it to her, she typed
Having a great time on the top of the world at Angels Landing in Zion!
Love you
,
Claire and Alex.
“How’s that?”

“Great.” He attached the picture to the text and looked at Claire as he pressed Send. “All right. It’s done.”

She bit her lip.

“Look,” he said, kissing her temple. “I don’t know what you’re worried about. I’m the one who’s being cast as the horrible heart-crushing man slut.”

“I guess.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “But you’re
my
horrible heart-crushing man slut.”

“You bet I am. And you’re my luscious, sexy savior, put on this earth to make me see the error of my ways.”

* * *

They didn’t get a response until they were back at the cottage, hours later. Claire’s phone rang first.

“It’s Erin,” Claire said to Alex after a glance at the screen.

Alex nodded grimly just about the same time his phone made a noise.

“Tim?” Claire asked.

“Yup.”

Claire headed for the kitchen while Alex stayed in the living room.

“Hi, sis! How’s the honeymoon?”

“We’re having the time of our lives, but I’m worried about my big sister. Claire, what’s going on? Are you...is everything okay?”

“Of course everything is okay. What are you worried about? Do you think he’s corrupting me? I’m a big girl.”

“A big girl who is still getting over a divorce. No one is in their right mind when on the rebound from a ten-year marriage. It’s impossible.”

“And you have so much experience in that arena.” Claire rarely went for sarcasm, but the situation merited it.

Erin sighed. “Okay, you have a point, but it’s just common sense.”

“Then give me some credit for having some. Vic took the cars, but I got to keep my brain.”

“Very funny.”

“Look.” Claire glanced at Alex. He was walking around the living room, gesticulating and talking into his phone. “Alex and I are now officially dating. It’s nothing serious. We like each other and want to spend more time together.”

“What?” Erin’s voice was so loud, Alex turned to see what was going on. “Are you sleeping with him?”

Claire paused. “No comment.”

“Oh my God. You are.”

Claire waited for the tirade. It didn’t come.

Erin asked something in a soft voice that Claire didn’t understand.

“What?”

She repeated the question, not much louder.

“Erin, speak up. I can’t hear you.”

“I
said
, is he any good?”

Laughing, Claire looked at Alex. He happened to glance at her at the same time. “Yes, he’s very good. Very,
very
good.”

A slow grin spread across his face. As he spoke into the phone, he gestured with his head toward the bedroom, his eyebrows lifted questioningly.

She nodded.

His grin got wider.

“Well, that’s something at least,” Erin said. “I can understand it if you want to enjoy that for a while. But just...just be careful. I don’t want to see you get hurt. I mean that literally. I know the divorce hurt you a lot more than it hurt me, but believe me, I was devastated too. I couldn’t stand seeing you so wounded. It made me so sad to think about...I don’t know. The sacrifices you made for all of us.”

“Okay stop.” Claire tried to block the emotions that were bubbling up. “Let’s not talk about it, okay? I’m about to bawl and I don’t want Alex to see me cry.”

“I just want to say one more thing. Okay? I just want to say I know, I
know
you put on a brave front for me so that I could enjoy my wedding and everything leading up to it, and I seriously love you for it.”

“Oh, damn it, you bitch.” Laughing, Claire felt the tears spill down her cheeks. “You just had to keep talking.”

Erin laughed too. “Okay, well, I have to go. We’re getting a couples massage in a few minutes.”

“That sounds like fun.” Claire went back into the kitchen to dab at her eyes with a towel. “Have a good time, sis. Don’t worry about me. I mean it. I know what I’m doing.”

After hanging up, Claire listened to see if Alex was still talking but didn’t hear anything. She peeked into the living room. He was sitting on the sofa, staring out the window.

“Hey,” she said. He put his arm out to make a space for her to sit next to him. “How’d it go?”

He shrugged. “The way I expected. Part protective brother-in-law, part buddy.”

He tried to look unaffected, but after spending the past three days with him, she could tell he was upset.

She sat and cuddled up. “They care about us and don’t want either of us to get hurt.”

“Yeah, I get that. It’s no secret I have a rep. Hell, I worked for years to foster that rep. I just...” He sighed. “It feels like he’s taking your side, that’s all.”

“I’ll talk to him, but you know what? From everything you’ve told me, Tim knows what kind of person you are. So he knows you’d never deliberately hurt me.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So, all I have to do is tell him his concern is appreciated, but that he needs to butt out.”

He glanced at her, his impish grin slowly reappearing. “Can I be there when you do?”

“I think it’ll be more impactful if you’re not.”

“Oh, okay. I guess I can see that.”

They sat for a moment in each other’s arms, then Alex spoke again. “What are you going to say?”

“You have a suggestion?” she asked, knowing darn well he did.

“How about something like, ‘Tim, your concern is appreciated, but you need to butt out.’”

She smiled. “Good plan.”

“Wait. I’m not finished.” He cleared his throat. “‘Tim, your concern is appreciated, but you need to butt out. While on our magical trip to Zion, I learned Alex is a very caring and wonderful man and I’m surprised that you of all people don’t know this.’”

She laughed. “True.”

“Still not finished. ‘Furthermore, he’s the most amazing lover I’ve ever had. Much of the criticism directed at him is unfounded and false, but Alex’s prowess is, really, the stuff of legends.’”

“Oh my God, Alex. I am not going to say that.”

“‘He’s going to write a book, actually. Both of us are. It’s going to be called
Alex and Claire’s Guide to the Most Satisfying Sexual Positions.
’” He stood up, took her hands and pulled her off the sofa. “‘But we’re still in the researching stage, because we only want to endorse the
most
satisfying ones.’”

She rolled her eyes at him as he led her to the stairs, even though her body responded with a heady flush of desire. “Oh, we are, are we?”

“Yeah.” He started walking toward the stairs. “And Chapter One is gonna be all about shower sex.”