One Choice (Hogan Brothers 2)

The “it” being his claim that when he took her, she would belong to him.

“I did.” Chancing a look down at her, he saw the slight grin. “Why?”

“It feels surreal, I guess.”

“What does?” He looked from her to the road and back again waiting on an answer.

She was quiet for so long, he didn’t think she’d answer. “I know I’m young, and I shouldn’t be so worried about the future, but when I was in that hospital waiting to find out my fate, it was all I could think about.” He remained silent as she spoke. “I realized I would never get my shot at the Olympics. I fought that fact for so long, but deep inside, I knew it was true. Whenever the nurse would come in to clean my bandages or when they would tell me I had to go for another surgery, all I could think about was who would want me? A scared girl with broken dreams. Damaged beyond belief. I was reduced to nothing.”

“You’re not nothing,” he growled.

Sitting up, she looked at him and smiled. “I know that now. Then, not so much, and it was hard to look past the ugliness.” Tears hovered in her eyes as she continued. “Then you came along, tackling me to the ground. I was so damn mad at you. The impact was brutal on my hip. Then you spoke and made it so much worse.” He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I looked for you again after that. I had always hoped to run into you, but you never showed.”

“Hayes.”

She simply smiled at him. “I figured I’d scared you off with my attitude. Then that weirdo showed up. I don’t know what his plan was, but after I plotted my escape and nearly ran you down, my foolish heart sang like a canary. Then you spoke again.” She casually laughed while he felt like a tool for insulting her so much. He knew it wasn’t her intent. “When I saw you at the fight, I didn’t know what to think. I was shocked; amazed at your power. It was hypnotizing.”

“That so?”

“Yeah. When you saw me, and your reaction as you dragged me out… I’ve never felt so alive as I do when I’m in your arms, Levi.” Her soft admission had his chest puffing out with pride. “Then Dustin ruined everything.” The snarl that left his mouth at another man’s name crossing her lips was involuntary. She grinned. “I wasn’t going to keep it a secret or anything. It would have been hard to hide, but your rejection hurt worse than the accident. It stung like a thousand wasp bites.”

“I was shocked as fuck,” he admitted. “What I feel for you, Hayes, it’s anything but innocent. This need driving through my veins to devour you consumes me in a way I’ve never known before. It’s new for me, too.”

“What changed your mind?” Her words were husky, and he was glad to have finally pulled into the driveway of his small bungalow.

Unbuckling her, he pulled her into his lap as he answered. “The way you touched me. The tentative graze against my chest, the heat in your eyes as you made me come. You have this innocent aura that surrounds you, and it’s fucking addictive as hell. I don’t know if there was any one thing that drew me to you, I just knew that going without seeing you for days was brutal. I missed the passion buried deep in your eyes; the emotions it created. This connection we have is not dissipating, and I was a fool for pushing you away, Hayes. A real fucking idiot.”

“Yeah?” she whispered, uncertainty shining brightly in her gaze.

“Give me a chance, baby, and I’ll show you the world. Make me your choice, and I’ll worship you for as long as you let me.”

Levi’s words rang through her veins like a symphony. They were perfect. His gaze as he held hers was spellbinding. Magical. The stars were aligning for them, and Hayes felt a buzz in the air.

Electrifying, magnetizing. Almost as though they were being dared to defy the universe after throwing them together time and again. She’d never been one to believe in love and happy endings. In fact, she’d have laughed in anyone’s face who had told her differently. Except with Levi, she felt like an entirely new woman. They clicked in a way she hadn’t even know was possible. His sincerity as he spoke of his true feelings, as he described just what she did to his body and mind. She felt those same things soul deep. She understood beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was her choice and would be forever.

“I’ll always choose you, Levi.”

His happiness radiating back at her was so intense, nearly blinding, that a tear escaped her eye. His joy immediately turned to concern upon seeing it.

“What’s this?” A finger swiped the tear away.

“Happiness, Levi. That is what my happiness is.”

Leaning his forehead to hers, his whispered words washed over her. “Yeah, it is.”

Finally exiting his car, Levi pulled her along behind him as they entered his house. Sports memorabilia lined every wall. Everything from trophies for school sports sitting on shelves to signed posters framed and hanging on the walls. Pictures of him and his brothers or parents were dotted on random surfaces as they walked throughout the rooms.

“Holy Batman,” she mumbled as they walked past the living room overrun by a massive television. Larger than she’d ever seen.

“She’s a beauty, ain’t she?” He beamed.

Tilting her head, Hayes asked, “She?” trying to hide her laughter.

“It’s what I call all my beautiful things.”

“If you say so.”

His smirk was her only answer as he continued pulling her up the stairs. Nerves began to rattl