“For you. I’m meant for you.”
There was an instant pang between my ribs. I had done a lot of wrong things in my life. I’d made some shitty decisions and paid the price. But I didn’t know what I did to deserve this woman. This woman who could take me to my knees and then send me higher than a fucking kite. This woman who made dirty seem right, and love seem even better.
I had gone down on one knee yesterday, praying like a little kid that she’d say yes. That she’d join me in this crazy life I had. That she’d put up with my bad habits and my insane schedule. That she’d overlook the microscope I lived under as a celebrity. That she’d embrace my culture and realize we’d never live in Paris. That more than anything she would accept how much I loved her and wanted to protect her. I’d never had instincts like this to cherish someone. It felt natural to want to keep her close. I wanted her to be safe and happy, and nothing was more important.
She sighed over my shoulder. “How long do we get to stay this time?” she asked.
“I might have checked with the troupe ahead of time.”
“Oh?”
I nodded. “Sure did. And you have about ten days before they need you in Austin. So what if we spend three or four days here?”
“Are you serious?”
“Sound good?” I already knew the answer before she said anything. Her face was elated.
“It’s the best engagement present ever.”
“It gives us some time before everyone finds out. Before the media circus begins.” I was dreading that part, but it came with the territory of being a professional athlete.
“I thought maybe when everyone found out we were dating the fascination would have been over.”
I shook my head. “Have you seen you?” I eyed the dip at her breasts where the sheet was starting to come undone. “They will never want to stop taking pictures of you. I don’t think they care about me so much anymore.”
She giggled. “Not true. I see how the girls look at you.”
“Jealous?”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “Maybe a little.”
I grabbed the edge of the sheet to test how tightly she was holding. It fell off her shoulders.
“Sam,” she warned me.
I licked my lips. I wasn’t going to stop there. Natalia was mine. My fiancée. My love. My life. And soon she would be my wife. I had to make the most of this honeymoon preview.
“If you don’t want that little couple to see what I do to make those sounds come from your gorgeous lips, you better get inside.”
“You wouldn’t.” She looked incredulous.
“Wouldn’t I?” I winked.
She scampered up the stairs, gathering the sheet around her waist, and ran inside with laughter. I dropped my coffee and pounced after her.
Natalia had taught me something the first night we met and it was a lesson I wouldn’t forget. No matter what—never let her get away.
Dirty Game
Copyright © 2016 by Violet Paige
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Prologue
This was the last place I should be. The absolute last place. I’d woken up this morning in hot and dusty Dallas, and now here I was standing outside of the Dock House while boats rocked in their slips.