He’s lyingon top of the bed, completely naked. I stop and admire his taut body. He’s so long, but his body is nothing but tight muscle. He’s on his phone typing something, but he extends a hand to me without looking up from the phone. I slide in next to him and rest my head on his shoulder. He absentmindedly kisses my forehead while he texts with his mother. When he finishes, he tosses the phone across the room, and it lands on the chair. He grabs the remote, and his last basketball game comes on the screen.
“Ugh,” I groan. “Do we have to? I already told you how to win these stupid games. Bend your knees and flick your wrists or whatever. And why did you toss your phone? What if your mom needs to contact you about Evan?” I get out of the bed and retrieve his phone.
When I try to slide back into bed, he opens my robe and takes it off my body.
“Skin on skin, Queen Vee. As much as I hate hotels, I like being able to be naked with you.”
I slide my hand over his flat and rippled stomach. “It’s not so bad.”
“Face it, Queen, I’m the best thing to ever happen to you.”
I sigh and drop my head on the pillow. “Shut up.”
He pulls me up and puts me on his naked lap. I wrap my legs around him, grab his damp hair and kiss him.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” he says against my mouth. “I know what you’re doin’.” He kisses the side of my neck, biting me.
“What am I doin’?” I mimic his accent,
“It’s not workin’.” He moves away from the side of my neck and looks into my eyes. I stare at him, eager to hear what nonsense is going to spew from his mouth. “I don’t care how right you feel in my arms, or how good you smell. I’m not fallin’ in love with you.”
My heart skips a beat, and my mouth falls open. I look away, but he puts a finger underneath my chin and tilts my face back up. “Did you hear me?” he asks.
I swallow, unsure of how to respond. It’s been years since I’ve said those words to a man. Looking back now, I didn’t love Gerald. That’s why it was so easy for me to walk away and refuse to go to Kentucky with him.
As much as I wasn’t looking for a relationship when I met Colt, and as much as I tried to push him away, he’s here. He’s included me into his life, even the parts that I wanted nothing to do with. Now that I’m here with him, in every facet, there’s nowhere else I want to be.
“Yeah, I heard you,” I say to him. I square my shoulders and look into his clear brown eyes. “I’m not deaf, champion. Don’t worry, I’m not falling in love with you either.”
He smiles so wide that dimple makes an appearance.
“Good.” He dramatically exhales. “I would hate for this thing to be one sided. So, just to be clear, I do not love you, Victoria Renee Chastain.” When I stare at him, he laughs and shakes his head. “Oh, Jesus. What did I just say? I got hit in the head again earlier. A slip of the tongue. Let me rephrase.” He loudly clears his throat. “I do not love you, Victoria Renee Taylor. I don’t love how smart and selfless you are. I hate how patient you’ve been with Evan, and despite how reluctant you were to meet Mama”—I roll my eyes at the mention of his mother—“you’ve embraced her. I don’t love how you know who you are and what you want. I don’t love anything about you.”
I stare at him with an eyebrow arched. “Are you done?” When he nods, I say, “I don’t love you either. There’s nothing about you to love. I don’t love that you’re an awesome father to a great kid. I don’t love how kind you are to everyone, and I don’t love your ugly face. You annoy me. I’m only here for the free hotel room and the private plane. Oh, and the sex.” He wraps his arms around me and takes me in a kiss. “You have a nice dick,” I mumble against his mouth.
THIRTY-THREE
I don’t havemuch time to spend with Victoria the day of the third game, and I’m once again grateful to have a woman who is not only smart and beautiful but independent. She has no problem kicking me out of the room in the morning with orders for me to win the next two games because she doesn’t have time to keep traveling back and forth to my stupid games. That was after she reminded me to handle the ball better and to throw it right.
I spend the day at practice and then got a massage to loosen my tight muscles. I do leg extensions to relieve the pain in my knees from the fall I took at practice, and by the time I get back to my room, I’m ready for my nap. Once I close the curtains and the room is shrouded in darkness, I slide in between the sheets and grab my phone.
“My queen, my liege,” I say when she answers. Wherever she is, it’s loud. I hear a man’s voice, and I remember that her brother would be arriving today, otherwise, I’d be heading to wherever she is.
“Hey, champ,” she says. “Isn’t it your naptime?”
“It is, but I wanted to check with my Queen Vee first. I take it Alan got in okay?”
He says something, and she playfully calls him an idiot. There’s a part of me that wishes I had a better relationship with my brother. It’s so easy with the Taylor siblings, and I remember when me and Charlie had something similar.
“Yeah, we’re getting Mexican food. I never turn down a good margarita. I’ll come to your room and braid your hair before the game.”
“Come and get in bed with me when you get here. I don’t miss you, and I definitely don’t love you,” I tell her.
“Good because I don’t miss or love you either. You suck.”
“You’re the one who’ll be sucking when you get here.”
“Is that what you two are doing now?” Alan asks.
