Turn Over:A Secret Baby Sports Romance(10)

"Interesting philosophy."

"And what's yours? Love and peace?" he taunted. "Good always triumphs?"

"That's my image, yes." I didn't know why it seemed so important to  strip all of that away. I wanted him to see me bare. "But I believe it  too. I believe in kindness in people. Love. All of that."

"I can tell that about you." His brow furrowed.

I tiptoed away from him, still feeling the indentations on my ass where  his fingers had been. I walked around the room, observing Luke's  collection of pictures and football memorabilia.

"You can? How?" I wanted to know. I wanted him to tell me how he had  come to the conclusion that I was the same good girl everyone else saw.

He sat on the edge of the sofa. "The way you sing."

I forgot the picture of him with his arm wrapped around another guy in a  uniform and looked at him. "Really? One concert and you know that?"

He shrugged. "Maybe not. But I felt it. I doubt people say that when they see me perform."

He had my interest. "So the game is a performance? It's all a show?"

"The game is my life." His voice hardened. "But I know the fans go to  see a show. They want the same thing your fans want. They want to feel  something. They want to feel the thrill of winning. They want to feel  like they're a part of something bigger than they are. Why else do  people love football so much? Everyone's a damn expert. Men who have  never picked up a ball suddenly know what call I should have made last  week." He paused. "Everyone thinks they know the sport better. And it  brings people together. They unite against us. They unite to support us.  It makes them feel like they belong."

My eyebrows rose. "And you think that's the same as me singing on stage?"

"I saw it tonight. I saw how people responded to you. They want a piece  of you. Even that manager of yours. They want to be a part of something  bigger-your life-your music-your victories."

I turned again to the bookcase. Everything on these shelves was related to football. Luke had summed it up.

"My wins are wins for my team." I picked up frame. "If I have a number  one hit then everyone has that hit. The writers, the musicians, the  marketing staff, the roadies. It's exactly like that. And the fans." I  spun on my heels. "The fans feel the win too. Because they know they  gave it to me. They made me. They paid for that number one song, so  somehow I belong to them."         

     



 

Luke was looking at me. I didn't know him well enough to know what he  was thinking, only that we had threaded football and country music  together with undeniable lines of heavy cord.

"What do you want fans to think of you when they see you perform?" I asked.

"They've already made up their minds about me. Doesn't matter." He refilled his glass.

"And you're okay with that?"

"Are you okay with belonging to your fans?" He turned the question back on me.

"Who is this?" I held up the picture, trying to change the subject. I  hadn't come here to feel trapped. I came here to be freed. Freed the way  a man like Luke could release me.

Luke stood. "That is my brother, Linc. He used to play too."

"Not anymore?"

"No. He blew out his ACL in college his senior year. It ruined his  chances in the pros. After three surgeries he finally accepted he was  done, but he's my manager. A lot nicer than yours is too." He grinned.  "And he doesn't give me shit about anything."

"Jake has his days." I didn't want to remember him either. I was here to  escape. Here to forget the chains and the ropes that kept me bound to  him and my brand.

"That guy needs to find someone else to manage."

"And you know something about the music business?"

Luke took the picture from my hand and placed it on the shelf. "I don't know shit about the music business."

The air felt thick between us. He would have kissed me backstage if that  bumbling cellist hadn't interrupted us. Now we were alone. No crew. No  fans. No benefit guests. Just the two of us alone on a ranch in the  middle of nowhere.

I thought about the blanket of stars outside covering the ranch. I  thought about how I snuck out of my room to be here. I thought about how  this tough, hard man had done everything he could to impress me  tonight. And it worked. I was here, ready to fall into his hands.

His thumb ran along my bottom lip. I could hear the raspy voice singing  through the speakers. There was so much anguish in the words I felt them  pierce my heart. I looked into his eyes, wondering if he heard what I  heard. Did the lyrics move him like this?

"Are you a fucking angel, Lexi Wilde?"

I shook my head. "No," I whispered.

I swallowed hard. My chest heaved with breaths that were struggling to  escape. He hitched one of my legs up to his waist and I bit my lip. I  could feel him pressing against my thigh. His body wasn't the only thing  that was rock solid.

I moaned a little, the sensations starting to sink in. This was real. It  was no longer how much I could dare myself, or how shameless Luke's  flirting was. I wasn't talking myself into it anymore. I wasn't  pretending it could never happen. The warmth of his body was real. His  hands holding me close. The look in his eyes. The intensity of his lust.

"I thought you might be." He didn't let go. He let me feel how solid every inch of him was.

"I'm not. Why would you say that?" I searched his eyes. I could barely  speak. His hands held me with fire. His eyes with promises.

"When you walked onto that stage with the white lights and that voice  …  and then you winked at me."

I giggled. "I did? I winked at you?"

He nodded. "Oh, you're trying to tell me you weren't flirting with me  from stage?" His fingers dug against my curves and I groaned lightly.

"Not at all." I shook my head. "I look at all the men like that."

"Then maybe you are a devil."

"Maybe I am." I was almost shaking. Every muscle was tense with anticipation. Agonized with the need to be soothed.

"Want me to call the driver back?" He lowered his head so that his lips  barely grazed over mine. I didn't know how he could draw me in like  this. I couldn't look away. "Because there's only one thing I want from  you Lexi Wilde."

"And what's that?" I whispered.

"To fuck you until the sun comes up." He said it boldly and flatly, but  it set every nerve I had on fire. My core tightened involuntarily and I  could almost hear the hammering of the blood in my veins.         

     



 

He had the most beautiful dirty way with words.

"Oh my."

"Tempted?" he asked.

I nodded my head. He had no idea how tempted I was. Why else did I sneak  out of the hotel and drive here? Why did I give him my number? Why did I  dare him to bid on a date for me? Why was I doing any of this? He made  me lose my damn mind.

I wanted to break free so badly, I didn't have control. I couldn't  control anything in my life, but I could control this. I could have this  night with Luke and there wasn't anyone to stop me.

Jake couldn't tell me what to do. I could let my hair be wild. I could  smear my makeup. My clothes could fall to the floor. It didn't matter.  It was all up to me. I wanted it so badly I could taste it. I could  taste him.

"I don't want to be the reason the good girl goes bad," he growled into my hair.

My eyes lifted to his. "Who said you were the reason?"

His mouth crushed against mine as I inhaled the taste of bourbon off his  tongue. His lips were only the beginning. I wanted to feel the rest of  him. The broad planes of his chest. The strength in his shoulders. The  ripples in his biceps. The roughness of his palms, sliding over my  smooth skin. I wanted the entire Luke Canton experience from head to  toe.

He wrapped my other leg around him, lifting me from the floor and walked  down the hall, holding me close. I clung to his neck, kissing him with  reckless thirst. With every step he took, I knew I was leaving America's  Sweetheart in his living room and letting him peel back the layers of  who I wanted to be.

I was in Austin for one night. By tomorrow afternoon I'd be on a plane  back to Nashville. Tomorrow I could go back to being America's perfect  role model. I could hide my inner hellcat. Suffocate the sexiness I  wanted to feel. Pretend nothing mattered more than the purity of heart  my brand crammed down everyone's throat, but for tonight I could let  Luke give me what I really wanted.

A night where being bad was a good thing. A night when all that mattered  was how sexy I could be. A night when I could let a hot bad boy fuck me  like I deserved.

He carried me over the threshold of his bedroom and it was dark inside. I  could make out large pieces of furniture, and an enormous bed. The  blinds were closed, and I knew what was about to happen wouldn't be  something we'd want to share with the outside world. I could be  completely free, feeling the protection of Luke's world around me. The  privacy of the ranch. The gated entrance. For the first time I realized  how incredible it felt to have this layer of secrecy around us.