Bring It On (The Exes #5) Read online

  “What do you have planned for me?” I asked, hoping my guess was right. I’d missed that almost as much as I’d missed him.

  “What do you think?” He pushed me back onto the sofa gently, licking his lips when my tits bounced from the impact.

  I tugged on the hem of his shirt, pouting. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

  “I can fix that.”

  I sighed contentedly at the sight of his six-pack. There were definite perks to being with a man who didn’t sit behind a desk all day.

  “You like?” he asked with a smug smile, guiding my hands to his hard stomach.

  “I love your body.” With Carter, I wasn’t embarrassed to say anything. Whatever popped into my head flew out of my mouth. But he seemed to like it that way.

  “And I love yours.” He ran a finger under the strap on my shoulder, his eyes darkening. “God, you look so sexy in this, Jazzy.”

  “Thank you.” I’d never felt sexier, having his eyes roam my body as though he couldn’t get enough. That was what I’d been missing—having a man look at me as if I was his only weakness.

  His finger pushed the fabric down beneath by breasts so the girls were standing at attention, begging to be touched. His fingertip circling my nipple felt feather light, but instead of leaning into his touch, I bit my lip and curled my hands, determined to be patient. I knew he would make it worth my wait. He always did.

  I spread my legs a little, trying to coax him into picking up the pace, but he reached for his belt buckle as though he had all the time in the world. “You realize this is the very first time I’ve ever come home to the woman I love waiting for me?”

  I smiled, wondering how he’d known I needed to hear those words.

  “I could definitely get used to it.” He pushed his black jeans over his hips, leaving his gray boxer briefs on. “In fact, I want you here all the time, Jazzy.” He got on his knees, ignoring my sharp intake of breath as his hands glided up my thighs. “Baby, move in with me.” Before I could respond, he whispered, “I don’t want to come home to an empty apartment anymore. And I hate sleeping alone.”

  “You have to sleep alone on the road…” My breath hitched when his finger dipped beneath the elastic rimming my panties.

  “I don’t want to be without you any more than I have to.”

  He leaned in and kissed me. It was then I realized we hadn’t kissed since he walked in the door. But he more than made up for it. His kiss wasn’t hungry or possessive; it was long and leisurely, as though we had all the time in the world to pleasure each other. I whimpered when he pulled away, but his lips were still working, gliding over my skin, barely touching me but making me feel… branded. The warmth spread all over, pooling between my legs. I moaned when he spread my slickness before dipping inside.

  “Be with me,” he whispered, heightening my senses when he looked into my eyes.

  I was wound tight, the promise of sex hovering in the air like my favorite perfume. “I am with you.”

  There was only one way we could be closer and that was for him to be inside me, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t get what I wanted until I gave him what he wanted. I braced my hands on his shoulders when he rolled the pad of his thumb over my clit while easing his fingers in and out, his eyes still holding mine.

  “I want this.” He leaned in to nip my lower lip before soothing it with his tongue. “I think about you when we’re not together. All the fucking time. I can’t think about anything else.”

  It was so sexy, hearing a man as strong as Carter expose his truth, heedless of his weakness.

  “I feel the same way,” I whispered, drawing his head closer to my breasts. I needed to feel his mouth on me. He was doing amazing things with his hand, but I needed his mouth to push me over the edge. I tried to breathe through the pleasure as I watched his tongue circle my nipple before he drew it into his mouth. I whimpered, surrendering to the truth. “I want to be with you too.”

  The thought of taking a leap of faith with him was scary, but it felt right. Like we’d always been on this path, but somehow had taken a detour along the way to forever. But we were back on course now and I knew nothing else could stand in our way.

  He looked up, the hopeful expression in his eyes making me fall a little deeper in love. He wanted me so much, it made my chest ache. This was what love felt like. This scary as fuck, desperate need to be with someone. The knowledge that you’d be lost without them.

  “For the rest of my life, Carter.”

  He closed his eyes, breathing deeply before he brought his hands to my head, cradling it. “You mean that?”

  “Yes.” I could barely get the word out, but I’d never been more sure of anything. This man was my today. My tomorrow. My thirty years from now.

  “I’m never letting you go again,” he said, sounding fierce. “I swear to God, Jazzy. You’re it for me. I need to know you feel the same way.”

  “I do.”

  He smiled. “You’re going to say that to me again, you know. Very soon.”

  “I know.” And unlike the last time I’d contemplated saying that, this time I felt no dread or fear. This time, they’d be the right words. With the right man.

  “I want all of you.” He kissed me hard. “I want to fucking devour you. I want to wear you out and make you scream. I want you to take all of me, then beg for more.”

  Oh my. Sign. Me. Up. “Yes.”

  “I can’t… I don’t…” He shook his head, obviously struggling to find the words. “This thing between us, this feeling. It rocked me. I didn’t see it coming. When I walked into the bar that night and saw you…”

  He swallowed, and my heart swelled with love for this man. No one had ever been brave enough to bare their soul to me the way he had. And the fact that he was doing it when he had the choice between talking and having sex made it even more important. Like he had to get it out, he needed for me to know how he felt.

  His eyes were bright, his smile weak, when he touched my cheek. “I’ve never been big on prayers, but I felt like someone had answered mine. You were back in my life. I didn’t know how. Or why. Or for how long. I just knew I’d take you for as long as I was allowed.”

  “I love you,” I mouthed, feeling tears prick my tears. The fact that he’d been willing to risk more pain for the sake of a few more hours with me said it all. He’d risk it all for me and I felt the same way about him.

  He gripped my hands, lowering his forehead to rest on them. “You’re everything.” He kissed my hands before looking at me. “I thought I was wrecked when you left me before. I’d never survive it this time. You need to know that.”

  I pulled him into my arms, thinking of how much I’d needed his assurances when he walked in the door. Without even knowing it, as though he could sense it, he gave them to me. Now I wanted to make him feel safe and secure… loved.

  “I’m going to marry you, Carter.” I smiled at his look of surprise. “I don’t know when. I just know I will.” I grinned, wrapping my hands around his gorgeous face. “And we’re going to make beautiful babies.”

  “God, I want that…”

  I righted my lingerie, making him frown, before I stood and traded places with him. I eased his boxers down, watching his eyes track my every move as I slipped off my thong and straddled him.

  “How ‘bout we start practicing for that right now?” I kissed his neck as I sank down on him, inch by delicious inch.

  “Jesus, Jazzy.”

  I could tell he was holding back as he gripped my hips, trying to hold me still.

  “Don’t ever hold back with me,” I whispered against his lips. “I want it all. Your heart, your body, your fears and tears. Let go when you need to. Just don’t hold back.”

  He gripped my head hard and kissed me, the slow slide of his tongue against mine making it impossible for me not to grind on him. I was doing what I’d asked him to do—letting go, trusting he’d be there to guide me when I needed him to. Or let me fall, if that was what I
needed.

  “Trust me,” I murmured in his ear. “Trust me, Carter. To love you. To always be there for you, because I will. I love you so much.”

  His breath stuttered as his movements became harsher, more demanding. “Jas, come on, please.”

  I knew what he needed from me, and it was easy to give. I’d been on the verge ever since I felt his hard length filling me. A sense of satisfaction, of complete fulfillment, came with having my man inside me. Nothing else could compare. I tipped my head back and he nipped my nipples through the silky fabric, drawing hard and soaking it through as I cried with the force of my release.

  “You…” He winced, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip as his fingertips curled into my hips. “Are too fucking sexy. I can’t hold out with you.”

  “Then don’t.”

  I loved that split second when he gave in. His face was a mask of frustration, satisfaction, and surrender before he finally pulled me into his arms and let me feel the beat of his heart as the world around us came back into view.

  Chapter Eleven

  Carter

  I was so fucking nervous as I handed her the contract my lawyer had emailed to me. I’d printed it at the hotel so I could hand it to her when I got home, but seeing her in that sexy lacy get-up as soon as I walked through the door shifted my priorities in a hurry. We’d finally gotten around to eating the lasagna she’d made and we’d had a couple of glasses of wine, since tomorrow was an off-day for me, but now we were lying in bed. I watched her brows knit with confusion as she read my terms.

  She tried handing the contract back to me as she shook her head. “No, this isn’t right.”

  My lawyer had disagreed with me too, but I’d been firm. This was what I wanted. I hadn’t let him talk me out of it, and I wasn’t going to let Jazzy talk me out of it either. I knew my girl was strong and independent and stubborn as hell sometimes, but I wouldn’t budge on this one.

  “I know this is your business, but we’re talking about something bigger than that now, aren’t we?” I watched her carefully as she considered my words. “We’re talking about our future.”

  She scanned the stapled sheets again.

  “Hockey is my career, just like this company is yours. It feels like everything now, but it’s only a part of our lives, baby. A part. Eventually we’re going to get married and have kids and that’ll eclipse everything else. Or at least I hope it will.”

  “It will,” she said softly. “Family’s the most important thing.”

  “And you and I are going to be family.” I knew that like I knew the sun would rise and set tomorrow. “We’re going to be life partners, but we can’t be fully committed unless we’re equally invested, right?”

  She rubbed her forehead. “I just don’t understand how you could even consider this, given what Butler’s going through with—”

  “I’m not Butler and you’re not Jenna.” I took the contract and set it on the nightstand. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about this lately, and I’ve realized there’s no way I’m going into this relationship expecting it to fail. It’s not going to. There’s no way in hell.” Because I’d do anything, sacrifice anything, to have this woman in my life.

  Her lip trembled, and I could tell she was on the verge of crying. “This is too much, babe. I can only imagine what people would think if you—”

  “You think I give a fuck what people think?” I was getting pissed now because if other people’s opinions were going to keep her from doing what was best for us… yeah, that wasn’t gonna happen. “You think money would mean shit to me if I lost you?”

  She shook her head somberly, as though contemplating the end of us was making her sad. “But still, it’s—”

  “It’s only money.” I tipped her chin up. “Those are just a bunch of zeroes on a piece of paper, Jas. That’s all it is to me. I’m forgiving that loan when we get married because I want us to be partners in every sense of the word. We can’t be if you’re worried about repaying some stupid loan. I won’t have my wife indebted to me for anything. It’s that simple.”

  She raised her chin, looking every bit as stubborn as I was. I knew we’d butt heads a lot because my girl wouldn’t back down and sometimes I couldn’t either. Like now. “Then we’re going to be partners.”

  “No, I don’t want you to give up a percentage of your business—”

  “Hey! You get to show your faith in us, but I don’t? How it that fair?”

  “Baby, this company is your life. You built it from nothing. I can’t take a piece of that.”

  “You just told me we were going to be a team, right?”

  “Well, yeah. But—”

  “But nothing. Either we’re a team or we’re not. Either we share everything or we don’t. So what’s it gonna be, Wells?”

  I chuckled, gripping her chin. “Has anyone ever told you that you are the sexiest, most stubborn woman on the planet?”

  “You may have mentioned it a time or two,” she said, wrapping her arms around my neck.

  Her forehead was resting against mine when I whispered, “You sure about this, baby? This is a huge step.”

  “I’m sure.”

  I kissed her, smiling against her lips. “So as long as we’re on the subject of marriage and contracts, I’ve already told my lawyer if I ever hear him mutter the word prenup, I’ll have to fire his ass.”

  “You did not,” she said, slapping my back lightly. “You can’t do that.”

  “Yeah, I can. I’m not asking you to sign a prenup. I don’t need one. I don’t want one.”

  “You can’t mean that. By the time your hockey career is over, you’ll be worth over a hundred million dollars. That’s a lot, a lot of money.”

  “You ever gonna leave me?”

  “No.”

  “Then we don’t have to worry about it, do we?”

  There were tears in her eyes when she said, “You trust me that much?”

  I smiled. “I trust you with my heart.” I brushed away the tear slipping down her cheek. “So yeah, I trust you that much, Jazzy.”

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