Kulti (52 page)

Our slow, deep kisses of tongue on tongue ate up the time. Unrushed and tender, they went on and on, his hands stroking and painting lazy circles on my bare spine. Right around the same time his breathing calmed, his mouth pulled away from mine. Those heavy beautiful eyes were on me, searching my face, my neck and then down to my chest, stomach and bare hips. Rey shook his head while licking his lips. His hand caressed my shoulder before making its way to my breast and nipple. He hummed, brushing the back of his fingers over my nipple again. “I’ve been waiting for this forever.”

“I love you very much.” The words were out of my mouth, steady and determined. And true. They were so, so true.

I felt my face heat up under his intense scrutiny. His words were like gold, and I didn’t mind that he didn’t say anything in return. Instead his eyes were lasers, scanning over every inch of my exposed skin—everything. His hands were gentle and slow as they caressed me, brushing over the many, tiny and nearly invisible scars I had on my thighs and knees from years of soccer and from just being a kid.

He must have known that because he rubbed over me more reverently, squeezing my thighs in his big hands, thoughtless words in his mother language slipping out of his mouth. He slid his hands up my quads and over my hip bone. He brushed his fingers over my stomach, my belly button. His palm moved up to cup my breast, bringing it up to his face, and in a heartbeat his lips were sucking my nipple roughly again. His other hand kneaded my hip.

It all kind of went up in flames right then. I started grinding my pelvis into his hard thigh, and at some point he picked me up effortlessly and dropped me onto the middle of my queen-sized bed. He laid on top of me as I pulled his shirt off roughly and tossed it to the side. Reiner Kulti shirtless was probably the most magnificent thing I’d ever seen, but Reiner Kulti shirtless and covering me should have made me start spontaneously ovulating. His skin was tight and hot as I smoothed my palms over his pecs while he nipped at my neck. My hands were moving as if they’d unbuckled and unbuttoned a hundred belts in the past.

In the blink of an eye, we’d pushed his pants off his hips, and I was cupping his huge hard-on through the thin material of his jade-green boxer briefs. Rey’s wet mouth kissed a line down my chest as he kicked his underwear off his legs.

His long cock bobbed in the air as he kneeled over me, a deep fascinating shade of pink and red and purple. In his full glory, Rey was lines of muscle, a hard, thick cock and strong, muscular thighs that told me a story about what his secret had been when becoming one of the best players in the world.

He was perfect.

“You’re on birth control, yes?” he whispered after dropping down to his elbows to cage me between his bunched biceps.

I pressed my mouth against his, sucking on that full bottom lip I’d eyed countless times in the past. “Yes.”

He groaned, kissing me with vigor, moving his mouth a moment later to suck on my earlobe. His erection was heavy on the inside of my leg, that blunt, damp head prodding against my lower lips. “I’ve been abstinent since I stopped drinking,” he said softly.

A year? I was a deeply possessive person. I didn’t want to think about him being with anyone, ever, but I guess I couldn’t complain about his inactivity. I guess. But a year? It was almost hard to believe—almost. If this was anyone else telling me something like that I might have a hard time believing them, but I knew Rey wouldn’t lie to me.

I also knew what he was telling me. We’d all been tested for everything under the sun when the season started, coaches included. Plus, God knows there was nothing for him to worry about.

His hips surged upward, rubbing his length over the seam of my cleft and I arched too, loving the feel of his hot, soft skin. Wrapping my legs loosely around his thighs must have been enough of an answer because he was smiling, dropping those narrows hips between mine.

Rey kissed me deep, his tongue against mine as he aligned himself. Inch by inch he pressed in, his thick cock stretching his path forward. He groaned louder than I did, having to work himself deep into me. “Sal, Christ,“ he grunted, looking down at where we were connected.

I couldn’t help but look down at us too. The dark thatch of hair, a shade darker than what he had on his head, clashed against me; dark to smooth, the thick base of his shaft barely noticeable as he made his way inside of me. Rey rocked forward, kissing me softly as he slid in to the hilt. I groaned into his mouth as he pulled out completely before pushing in deep again.

His hand cupped my cheek, palming it just shy of being too rough. Those brown-green eyes were filled with something I couldn’t recognize. His hips rolled heavy, his weight pressing him hard against me, pounding, filling; the sound of our skin slapping together was the most erotic sound in the world. Rey’s eyes were locked on mine constantly, his jaw clenched with each thrust.

Those unpolished, desperate strokes of him inside of me went on and on, faster and faster. Hard meat slapping wet flesh. He started sweating, his back damp under my fingers. I ran my hands over his back and the butt I’d been obsessing over forever, squeezing it, grabbing it and pulling him in even when there wasn’t any more room for him to move. His pubic hair was dewy against me as he circled his hips, making me cry out.

I wanted him all. Every inch long, every inch wide, his girth and his heat. I wanted each powerful stroke that tried to tunnel him into me.

Then I was coming. I groaned so loudly I’m sure if anyone had been standing outside, they would have heard me. Rey was biting his lip and groaning as an orgasm rushed through my spine and lower body, milking his long length.

“I need to come,” he panted.

Who was I to argue? I arched up and kissed him, and I kept right on kissing him as his thrusts turned frantic and shallow before he finally pushed in to the hilt and stayed there, pulsing and groaning loud against my mouth.

We stayed like that forever, him on top, inside of me, his body hot, sweaty and perfect. It took me forever to catch my breath, but I rubbed all over those sleek, honed muscles in the meantime. I pressed my lips to the parts of his shoulders I could reach and kneaded his back. When his breathing evened out, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a huge kick out of how worn-out he was, I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a hug. He lifted his head enough to give me a few pecks on my mouth and cheek, but it wasn’t until he pulled back even further that my heart soared. He was smiling the biggest smile I’d ever seen, and it reached deep into my existence.

My poor heart didn’t know it could love so much. I wasn’t going to let my fears get the best of me. I had this one life, and if I didn’t make the best of it, then what was the point? I’d been given plenty of good things to be appreciative of, and I wasn’t going to let this newest gift go to waste. I had never considered myself to be unappreciative.

So I said to him the three words that felt more real than anything while I palmed the small of his back, repeating the words I’d said moments before. “I love you, Reindeer.”

That smile the size of the solar system stayed strong but the emotion in his eyes quadrupled. “I know.”

The arrogant ass. “You do?”

He kissed the corner of my mouth. “
Ja
.” Rey kissed the other side. “You always have.”

I snorted. “I don’t know about
always
—“

“No. Always,” he insisted.

“You haven’t always cared for me, and I can live with that.”

“You’re a better person than I am, and I haven’t loved anything the way that I love you,
schnecke
. I would say we’re tied,” he argued. His smile was gentle, his skin bright and flushed. “I’ve been waiting every day of my life for you. Your honesty, your loyalty,” he punctuated each of my traits with a kiss to a different part of my face that had me grinning like a freaking fool. “Your competitiveness, your fierceness, your kindness and this body… I would do anything for you. Lie, cheat and steal. There is nothing I wouldn’t do. Understand?”

I didn’t, not completely at least. I didn’t have a lot of self-esteem issues, I was good with myself but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, I figured. I never wanted to become a cocky asshole.

I could love one, but I didn’t want to be one.

“Sort of,” I answered him honestly. “Are you really not staying on with the Pipers next season?”

“Absolutely not. I’m staying with you.”

“But I don’t even know where I’m going,” I reminded him again with the least amount of panic I could muster.

“It doesn’t matter. You’ll go somewhere, and you aren’t going alone,” he assured me.

I blew out a deep breath and scrunched up my toes against his leg hair, making him jerk. “What about your house here?”

Rey dropped another kiss, ignoring what I was doing. “I’ll sell it.”

I let out a shaky exhale I couldn’t hide into his neck. “I’m a little scared.”

“Don’t be.”

“I can’t help it.”

“Remember that idiotic question you asked me in the car? About what would happen when you can’t play soccer any longer?” He didn’t wait for any acknowledgment. “Nothing would happen. We would have a different adventure to go on. You are my best friend, my love, my playmate and my teammate. You’ll have a team with me wherever we are, with whatever we are playing.”

For a man who didn’t talk much, he really went for the knockout when he tried. Jesus Christ. Tears came into my eyes, and I couldn’t even bother blinking them away. “I guess we’ll figure out everything, right?”

He nodded. “I won’t let you give up.”

I smiled at him right before pulling at his leg hair again, earning a grunt that time. “I’ve never given up on anything. I’m not about to start now.”

S
occer forward Salomé Casillas Kulti
announced her retirement on Wednesday. Following six years in the European Women’s Football League, three EWFL championships and one Altus Cup win with Germany, the captain and forward for CS Frankfurt will be officially hanging up her cleats.

“It’s time,” the thirty-four-year-old expatriate explained. “I’ve done what I wanted to do, and I’m ready for this next step in my life.”

Speculation over her possible retirement was high following CS Frankfurt’s last championship win, when she was spotted limping off the field. Her injuries have been well-documented over her career, but a comeback was managed each previous time. Before joining the EWFL, she played for the U.S. Women’s National Team and spent four years with the U.S. WPL’s Houston Pipers, bringing the team to one championship.

Casillas Kulti has been just as well known for her soccer skills as for her relationship with retired international soccer icon Reiner Kulti. Married five years, the couple has made no secret of their support of each other. ‘The King’ has been noted for his perfect attendance at her games and has been spotted wearing her jersey without fail. This is the second marriage for Reiner Kulti and the first for Casillas Kulti.

We wish the two nothing but the best with their plans in starting a family.

T
here is
no way I could wrap this up without thanking everyone who made “Kulti” possible.

To my readers, I wish I could give you all a hug for your encouragement and the massive amount of love you’ve shown me and my writing. You all inspire me to be better everyday, especially on the days when I look at a document and wonder what the hell I’m doing. I’m eternally grateful. Thank you for your time.

The most special ‘thank you’ in the world goes out to Amanda Brink for her love, friendship, support and keen eye. I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate everything you do for me, so I hope you have an idea. Kulti wouldn’t be Kulti without you. Grace Borg, Gabriella West and Dell Wilson—thank you for everything.. Jasmine Green, my cover designer, you always nail everything I picture in my head. Jeff Senter with Indie Formatting Services—thank you so much for taking my book on at the last minute.

Thanks also to Jane Dystel, Rachel Stout and Lauren Abramo of Dystel & Goderich for all of their work with helping me dream of dreams I hadn’t considered before.

To my Zapata, Navarro and Letchford family, thank you all for always being so supportive and bragging to all your friends about my writing, haha. You’re the greatest families a girl could ever ask for.

My Bear: Everything always comes back to you. I don’t know where I’d be right now if it wasn’t for your infamous words: “Just quit and write.” You’re my biggest supporter (my parents might fight you for that title), my best friend, my manager, my teammate and my consultant in all things. “Thank you for keeping me alive.”

Last but not least, to my two best friends on the planet, Dorian and Kaiser. No character will ever love another character half as much as I love you guys.

M
ariana Zapata lives
in a small town in Colorado with her husband and two oversized children—her beloved Great Danes, Dorian and Kaiser. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, spending time outside, forcing kisses on her boys, or pretending to write. Or burning experiments in the kitchen.

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