BULL: A Secret Baby Sports Romance (46 page)

“Our children, everyone,” Cindy said. “Frank and I are so proud of them and are so happy they could be here.”

Scattered applause. We sat back down. Alexa scowled at me. “You’re doing more harm than good.”

“Maybe,” I grunted.

And the speeches continued. When Cindy was finished, she rejoined our table, shooting me looks. It was easy to ignore her when Alexa was so damn distracting by my side.

We were forced to sit through increasingly dull people talk about increasingly mindless things. Even Alex was looking a little haggard at the end of the first hour.

“Hey,” I whispered in her ear. “Let’s get out of here.”

“We can’t leave,” she said. “It’s not over yet.”

“Won’t leave,” I said back. “We’ll just take a break.”

She gave me a dubious look. “I don’t know.”

“Come on. I can tell you’re ready to claw your own eyes out.”

I stood up as the speaker finished onstage. She had a moment of indecision, and then she quickly stood to follow me. As the people clapped and the staff bustled to freshen drinks as the next speaker set up, we skirted around the edges of the large banquet hall. We came up toward the bar, and as we passed I grabbed a bottle of whisky, pushing it into my jacket. I quickly went out an emergency exit and into a stairwell before anyone noticed.

Alexa was right on my heels. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” I took a slug of the whisky as we climbed up the steps. I could hear the clacking of her heels on the concrete steps as she followed me.

“Did you steal that?” she asked.

“It’s an open bar.”

“Give it here.”

I handed her back the bottle and she took a swig, making a face. “Whisky is gross.”

“It’s an acquired taste.”

“Shouldn’t things just, like, taste good? And not have to be acquired?”

I shrugged. “Sometimes the best things seem bad at first. Come on.”

We reached the top of the stairs and I pushed out the door.

“Wow,” Alexa whispered.

I had to agree. The door led out onto the roof, and the view of the bay was incredible. We were pretty high, and the night sky was clear, so everything was visible. We walked over to the edge and leaned up against the brick, looking out over the water.

“Beats that shit downstairs,” I said.

“I have to agree with you there.”

“Think your dad will be pissed we left?”

“What do you care?”

“Guess I don’t.”

I took a sip of the whisky. I had never loved San Francisco that much before I left the states, but I had to admit that it was pretty beautiful. Sure as hell beat the shit out of the stinking Thai jungle.

“Why don’t you and your mom get along?” Alex asked suddenly. “Too much of a bad boy to be nice to mommy?”

I laughed, looking at her. “Not exactly.”

“Then why?”

“Does it matter? You just want a divorce from me.”

“I guess not. But we’ll still be stepsiblings after the divorce.”

I leaned closer to her. “I tell you something, and then you have to tell me something. Deal?”

“Fine. Deal.”

“Cindy is an intense woman, but you’ve noticed that by now. She’s been pushing me hard ever since I was a young kid. When my dad died, it only got worse. When I decided I’d rather go into fighting than business, I guess I disappointed her. She hasn’t let me forget that since.”

“That sounds hard. But it’s not like she doesn’t love you.”

“Love,” I snorted. “Love doesn’t win Cindy any influence or power, and that’s all she cares about.”

“What about my dad, then?”

I shrugged, not wanting to tell her the truth, that Cindy was probably just using her dad. “Freak accident, maybe.” I moved closer to her, passing her the bottle back. “My turn to ask a question.”

She sighed. “Okay. Go for it.”

“Why did you marry me?”

I watched her mouth drop slightly as I moved closer to her. She looked away, red coming into her cheeks. “I didn’t think it was real,” she said.

“That’s bullshit. I know that.”

She was quiet for a minute and took a swig of the whisky, making another disgusted face. “I thought you were hot, okay? And fun. Exciting. We were in paradise, you know?”

“Hot?” I whispered, practically on top of her.

“Yeah.” Her lips were slightly parted, and her tongue ran over her bottom lip.

I knew what that meant. She wanted me to bite her gently, right there, and cup her ass.

“You liked the way I made you feel,” I said.

“Maybe,” she whispered.

Our bodies were inches apart. The only sound was her breathing deeply, in and out, in and out, and I thought I could feel the heat coming off her skin.

“You liked that I made you feel alive. You liked having my tongue slip up against your clit until you screamed.”

She took a sharp breath as I grabbed her hips, pulling her against me. “I did at the time.”

“You still think about it every day.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

“Don’t deny it. You’re soaked now, like you’ve been soaked every time I’m near you.”

“What happened was just a vacation fling.”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “I’ve had flings before. You want more of it.”

My eyes locked on hers, and she tilted her head slightly to one side, practically inviting me in with her mouth. I knew what she wanted, and I wanted it too. I wanted to take every inch of her, tear off that fucking tease of a dress and stick my cock deep inside her tight fucking pussy. I wanted to make her scream out over the bay.

“It was a mistake,” she said, half whisper and half gasp.

“Nothing was a mistake.” My mouth was so close to hers that I could taste her minty breathe.

“All of it.”

And then I kissed her, hard and fast. A buzz ran through my skull and body, and my cock pressed up against her crotch, our bodies intertwined. She threw herself into the kiss as much as I did.

And then we heard a voice. It tore us out of the moment as quickly as we had thrown ourselves into it. “Alexa?” It was a young woman’s voice, and Alex threw herself away from me like I was made of flames.

“Alexa?” the voice came again.

“Over here,” Alex said, trying to put herself together.

I gave her a look. “This isn’t over.”

She glared at me. “Yes, it is.”

A young woman, maybe a few years older than us and wearing a conservative black dress, walked over. Her blond hair was pulled up into a bun, and she was wearing thick-rimmed black glasses and holding what looked like an address book. She completely ignored me, addressing Alexa.

“Your father is looking for you.”

“Oh,” she said, flustered. “Okay. Thanks.”

The girl looked at me. “Cole.”

I nodded at her, not sure who she was. She turned and walked quickly back toward the party.

“Who the hell was that?” I asked.

“Your mom’s assistant. You don’t remember meeting her earlier?”

I shook my head, bemused. “Nope. Not at all.”

“Her name is Madison, and I’m pretty sure she saw us kissing.”

I raised my eyebrow at Alex. “I doubt that.”

“You asshole,” she hissed and smacked my arm. “You can’t just kiss me whenever you want to.”

“I think you kissed me, sis.”

“Oh my god. Don’t call me that. Not right now.” She walked away, breathing deeply. “What the fuck am I doing?” she said to herself.

“Don’t get too twisted. There’s no way she saw anything. It’s too dark out here.”

Alex turned back toward me. “Whatever. What do you even care? You don’t care about anything but yourself.”

I narrowed my eyes, frowning. “Okay. Sure.”

She sighed. “Let’s get back to the dinner.”

“If that’s what you want, that’s fine with me.”

She stormed off without another word, back toward the stairwell.

I watched her go and picked up the bottle she had left behind. I took a deep swig, sighing to myself.

The girl was a damn pain in my ass. One second she was practically begging for it, and the next she was storming off like I fucking grew a second head.

Still, that fucking kiss. It was unreal. Never before in my life had I felt something hit me like that. Her taste, her body, it all mingled in my brain like a shot of crack straight to my gray matter.

I took another swig, hard as fuck. I needed to gather myself before I rejoined the boring-as-hell party downstairs.

That girl was a problem. Although I told Alex that she hadn’t seen anything, I wasn’t so sure. I resolved to look into that Madison girl a little bit, find out if she harbored any grudges against my mother.

Knowing Cindy, though, I was willing to bet poor Madison had a laundry list of complaints.

Erection subsided, I walked down the steps and rejoined the festivities. Dinner was being served finally, and Alex was deep in conversation with her dad and another older gentleman. I deposited the bottle back at the bar, giving the barman a little grin, and returned to my seat next to my stepsister.

Actually, next to my wife.

The night after that was a blur of formalities. I said hello to whoever my mother introduced me to, and I smiled nicely at everyone else. I was on my best behavior, not bothering to act like a pain in the ass.

Finally, people began to filter out of the hall. Alex wasn’t speaking to me, but she wasn’t exactly ignoring me, either. That was fine; I was drained and didn’t feel like playing games, anyway.

But as soon as we got out into the parking lot, a disheveled-looking man approach us. At first I tensed, ready to fight him off, assuming he was a mugger. But quickly I realized that he was holding a camera, not a gun.

“Cole Redson? Alexa Carter?” Alexa stopped and stared at him.

I grabbed her elbow and pulled her along. “What the hell?” she hissed at me.

“Reporter,” I answered.

“What do you think about your parents’ marriage?” he called out, taking pictures. “Are you aware of the allegations against them?”

“No comment,” I growled at the guy.

People were staring as I hauled Alexa behind me. I noticed two big dudes in suits and earpieces walking toward us.

“Cole, do you think your mother is a cold, careerist bitch?”

I stopped dead in my tracks and let go of Alexa’s arm.

“What did you say?” I asked the guy.

“Do you think your mother is using Alexa’s father for success?”

“Before that,” I growled.

“Is your mother a cold bitch?” he asked, sneering at me.

I stepped forward and swung my fist faster than he could think. I struck him directly in the jaw, clattering his teeth. He dropped like I had pressed the off switch on a robot.

Alexa gasped. The two security guys showed up just in time.

“Are you okay, sir?” the one asked me.

“Fine,” I said, turning away. “Come on,” I said to Alexa, grabbing her again.

“Is he okay?” she asked.

“Fuck him.”

We got into the car and I started the engine. Alexa was staring at me, wide-eyed, obviously shocked by what I had just done. I knew that shit was going to be in the papers tomorrow, or maybe just the tabloids if I was lucky. Maybe even I was going to have some charges pressed against me.

“Why would you do that?” Alexa asked as I pulled out into traffic.

“My mother may be a bitch,” I said, “but only I get to say so.”

She stared at me for a second and then burst out laughing, shaking her head.

I couldn’t help but grin myself, and I laughed along with her.

We sped back toward her dad’s house, moving through the night.

“
H
ello
?” I said, answering the phone on the third ring.

“Hey. It’s me.”

“Hi, Lace. What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She paused. “Just embarrassed.”

“About the other night?”

“Yeah.”

“I was wondering why you hadn’t called already.”

I rolled over onto my back and looked up at the ceiling of my bedroom. I was happy that Lacey had called me, even though it was still pretty early in the morning, because I’d been dying to tell her all about what had happened with Cole and me on the roof of the banquet hall.

“I’m really sorry about that, Alex. I don’t normally let myself get like that.”

It was true. Despite her confidence, her outgoing nature, Lacey very rarely got too drunk. Sure, she went home with guys from time to time, but that was just because she knew what she wanted and she went for it. She rarely made those decisions based on how much alcohol she’d had to drink.

I envied that about her. She had confidence, something I was lacking sometimes.

“It’s okay,” I said. “You should probably be apologizing to Cole, though.”

“Oh god. Don’t remind me.” I could practically hear her cringing on the other end.

“He threw you over his shoulder and dragged you out of there,” I said, laughing.

“Seriously, Al. I’m going to cry.”

I laughed louder, grinning. I could imagine the look on her face, and although I didn’t want my friend to be upset, it was just too funny.

“Don’t worry about it. He’s definitely not thinking about you right now.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Something happened.”

Instantly I felt the conversation shift. “Tell me. Now.”

“Well, we went to one of those dinner things with our parents last night, right?”

“How did he look?”

“Good. I mean, really good. That’s not the point.”

“Cole in a tux. Shit, I think I just made myself hard.”

“What?”

“Lady boner. You get it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, he wasn’t into it, and I guess I was pretty bored too. So we snuck out.”

“Snuck out? This is getting good.”

“Hold on. Listen. So, anyway, he takes me out this emergency exit and up a staircase to the roof.”

“How romantic.”

“Yeah, well, he had a bottle of whisky.”

“Where’d he get it?”

“Stole it, I guess.”

She laughed. “Doesn’t surprise me.”

“Why, because he’s an immature moron?”

“No, because he seems to do whatever he wants. It’s an attractive quality in a man, you know.”

“Whatever. There’s nothing attractive about him.”

“Sure, Al. So what did you guys do on the roof, have some deep talk?”

“At first, yeah. I mean, the view was gorgeous, and the weather was perfect. The whisky was gross, but I had some anyway.”

“Sounds like a good time.”

“Lace, he kissed me.”

There was a pause. “Seriously?”

“I mean, yeah, and I kissed him back—for like half a second, but it was a really intense kiss.”

Lacey exploded. She began talking fast, a flurry of emotions pouring out of her. At first she was all, “what are you doing are you stupid he’s your stepbrother,” but that quickly turned into, “he’s also your husband and actually really damn hot so I guess I get it,” and finally she finished with, “I knew it, I knew you would, you dirty girl, did you guys bang? I would hit that in a second, you have to tell me everything.”

It was an emotionally intense ten seconds.

“Are you done?” I cut in.

“Okay, yeah. I just can’t believe you!”

“I know. It’s so stupid. So, so stupid. Like, I want to divorce this guy, get my life back on track. I can’t be making out with him.”

“I mean, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s not like you guys didn’t bone already.”

My eyes widened. “Lacey, we did
not
have sex.”

Lacey laughed. “Come on, Al. I know you guys definitely had sex on vacation.”

“Seriously,” I said forcefully, surprised. “We didn’t have sex. I thought I told you that? We did pretty much everything else imaginable, but we just never had sex.”

She was silent for a second. “You have to be lying.”

“I’m not lying. I’m dead serious.”

“But you said it was the most intense night of your life? After the fake wedding?”

“It was, but we never actually had sex.”

“I don’t get it. It’s not like you were a virgin.”

“I know! But he made me feel . . . things, stuff Bobby didn’t do.”

Bobby was my college boyfriend and the second guy I had ever slept with. I had thought sex with him was pretty good until I learned Bobby didn’t know anything about the human anatomy compared to Cole. Bobby and I had broken up three months before I’d left for Thailand after I caught him sending nudes to some girl he met on Tinder, the scumbag. I barely ever thought about Bobby anymore.

“Holy crap. It was that intense and you didn’t actually have sex?”

“Yeah, absolutely no sex.” I paused, sighing, as the memories of that night came back to me. Cole’s fingers, his mouth, his hands, they all made me squirm and come again and again. But for some reason I hadn’t been able to sleep with him, couldn’t let myself have sex. “You see the problem now?” I asked.

“Yeah. I really, really do.”

We were both quiet as the truth sank in.

I hadn’t had sex with Cole in Thailand, but we had done plenty of other things. He’d made me feel more with just his mouth than Bobby had made me feel in our entire relationship. Cole was a man unlike any I had ever met before, and he seemed to just intuitively know exactly what would drive me crazy. And I had kissed him again, letting all those feeling come flooding back inside me.

“What are you going to do now?” Lacey asked.

“I don’t know, honestly. He’s my stepbrother.”

She snorted. “Stepbrother doesn’t mean anything. He’s not actually related to you or anything. Plus, you two were married first.”

“That’s true. But I can’t tell if that makes it better or not.”

“Probably not. Still, he’s your husband.”

“He is not my husband.”

“Whatever. I’m just looking out for you. If you’re into it, I say go for it.”

“It’s not that simple. Our parents are under some crazy scrutiny. Cole knocked out a reporter last night.”

“Before or after you made out?”

“After.”

“How did that even happen?”

“Guy came out of nowhere, taking pictures. Cole just . . . acted.”

Lacey whistled. “What a guy.”

“It was scary.”

“I bet it was. But also a little hot?”

“No! No way.”

“Oh come on, we both know Cole is sexy as hell.”

“He has his moments.”

“And how’s his piece?”

“Excuse me?”

“His piece. His man-meat. His schlong. His ding-a-ling. His—”

“Okay, okay, I get it.”

“Well?”

“Cut it out. I’m not describing his wiener.”

I thought back to those nights, to his thick, large cock in my hand, to the way he grunted as I slipped it between my lips, to the warmth of his cum as he shot it deep into my throat. I felt a rush run through me as my cheeks turned red.

“Oh just tell me. Big or little? Thick? Curved? Pierced?”

“Not happening.”

“C’mon. Yes or no, is he huge?”

“I am not describing Cole’s penis!” I yelled loudly, embarrassed. The sound practically echoed through my empty room.

We were both quiet for a second.

“I gotta go,” I said quickly. “I think he’s home and his room is right next door.”

I hung up the phone as she began to laugh.

I wrapped myself in my blankets and tried to pretend like I hadn’t just yelled loudly about Cole’s penis. The walls in Dad’s house were super thin, so there was no way he hadn’t heard that. I could only imagine what pervy, frustrating things he was thinking over there.

It wasn’t like I was obsessed with him. Maybe he made me feel something I hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever, but still. He was abrasive and cocky and everything I hated in a guy. I didn’t like violence, and Cole’s life was all about violence. I didn’t like recklessness, and Cole was reckless.

Still, driving in that fast car with him, threading our way toward the banquet venue, I’d felt alive.

Lacey could be so pushy sometimes, but I knew she meant well. She was a good friend and always supportive. Still, I wasn’t really comfortable enough with anyone to describe Cole’s penis, even if that wasn’t a dick move.

As I contemplated all of the awkward and horrifying ramifications of that conversation, I heard my father’s voice from downstairs.

“Alexa? Cole?”

I got out of bed and poked my head out of my room. “Yeah?”

“Can you come down here?”

Cole came out of his own room and smirked at me. “Hey, sis.”

“Hi, Cole.” I started walking down the steps.

“Fun time last night.”

“It was okay.”

“You should
describe
to me exactly how much fun you had.”

I turned bright red but didn’t look at him. “That’s okay. I don’t feel like grossing you out.”

He was right behind me as we marched downstairs. I could practically feel his heat pressing up against my back.

“If that assistant hadn’t shown up, we both know that I would have made you come, screaming for more up on that roof.”

“Knock it off. My dad is right downstairs.”

He grabbed my arm, pulling me against his hard body. “I’ll stop if you admit that you wanted me to keep going.” We were pressed together in the stairwell, in the small, cramped space.

I bit my lip, breathing heavily as his warmth and touch flooded my body. “I was drunk and stupid,” I lied.

“So you admit it.”

“Fine. It was a mistake though.”

“Good enough.” He let me go, and I wished that he hadn’t.

I started back down the steps and he followed me quietly. I was so embarrassed, and I could practically feel his triumphant smile boring a hole into my ass. I hated that I wanted him, and I hated that he knew it.

Once downstairs, we found our parents sitting together in the kitchen. It was almost creepy, and I felt like a little kid about to be punished.

“Uh oh,” Cole said. “Who died?”

“Please, sit,” Cindy said.

I sat down and gave my Dad a look. He just smiled and shrugged.

“I bet I know what this is about,” Cole said.

“The reporter.”

Cole nodded. “He survived?”

“He’s fine, thankfully.”

“Pressing charges?”

“No.”

Cole laughed out loud. “How’d you manage that one?”

“Not your concern.”

“Sure it is, Mother. What did you bribe him with?”

“Nothing,” Frank cut in. “We’ve had trouble with him in the past. We simply told him that if he pressed charges, so would we.”

Cole nodded. “Threats then. They work on spineless dickbags like him.”

“Cole, enough,” Cindy said sharply. “This isn’t funny. You assaulted a man.”

“Yes, I did,” Cole said.

“That’s unacceptable, totally unacceptable.”

“I guess so.”

“You embarrassed me.”

“Not sure that bothers me, honestly.”

“Cole, please,” Dad cut in. “Your mother is worried.”

“Worried?” Cole said, smirking. “Sure, she’s worried about her career.”

“Enough,” Cindy said, slamming her hand down on the countertop. The whole room looked at her, surprised. I had never seen an ounce of strong emotion in her before, but suddenly she looked very, very angry. “You have embarrassed me time and time again, Cole. I want you to leave.”

He stared at her hard for a second and then smiled. “Kicking me out already?”

“Yes. Please pack and leave by tomorrow.”

Dad looked away, unable to meet my eye. I was completely taken aback and shocked by the fact that Cindy was so callously throwing her son out on the street. It seemed almost like it was no big deal, but it seemed incredibly absurd. She was making such a big decision without even talking to anyone about it.

“Wait,” I said. “Don’t you know why he did it?”

“Don’t bother,” Cole said. “She doesn’t give a fuck about any of that. This is just an excuse to get rid of me.”

He stood up.

“Wait,” I said to Cole, and then I turned back toward Cindy. “He punched that guy because he called you a bitch.”

Cindy raised an eyebrow. “Is that true, Cole?”

“It’s true. Only I get to call you that.”

She was quiet for a second. “Thank you for defending my honor, but unfortunately this isn’t feudal England. You can’t just punch people whenever you feel like it.”

Cole looked back at me and shrugged. “Told you.”

“Wait,” I said again, but he had already left the room. I looked back at Cindy, anger rising in my chest. “Why would you do that?”

She sighed. “Cole has been a problem for a very long time. At a certain point, you have to be tough with him or else he will walk all over you.” She paused and looked at me seriously. “That’s a lesson you’ll need to learn if you want to remain in touch with him.”

I stared back at her, not sure what she meant. I almost couldn’t believe what she was saying. “He’s your son,” I said.

“He’s also a liability.” She looked away, back toward the file of papers she had in front of her.

“He’ll be okay,” Dad said. “He’s a tough kid. Has some money, too.”

I stared at him, completely unable to comprehend what had just happened. I stood up, shaking my head in disgust. “Grow a spine, Dad. You know this isn’t right.”

Before he could answer, I turned and left the room.

Anger flooded through me as I went upstairs after Cole. It wasn’t fair that they were kicking him out. It wasn’t right, especially since he’d been defending his mother. Sure, he shouldn’t have hit the guy. He should have kept his cool. But he wasn’t the type of man to just sit by and let someone insult his mother, even when his mother actually was a total bitch.

I had to admit, there was something special about that. It was old-fashioned, yeah, and maybe a little intense, but it was endearing. I didn’t like violence, but I did like a man with some semblance of honor. Too many guys these days were willing to roll over and let anyone do whatever they wanted so long as they could avoid a fight.