ROMANCE: MC BIKER ROMANCE: CARSON (MC Biker Romance)(Bad Boy Motorcycle Club Romance) (Contemporary Military Romantic Suspense Thriller) (9 page)

Chapter 3

Max played the best he could. He had missed playing, but that was not why he was putting in so much energy. If he was true to himself, it was because of Laurel. He knew that she was watching and that he had something to prove to her. Max thought he had, playing one of the best games that he had in a long time. Everything just seemed to connect and go perfectly. It just felt right and Max was sure then that that was where he was supposed to be. He was supposed to be there, in that moment, for that team, playing for the girl.

When they were coming off the field, he looked for Laurel, but it was the actual coach there. He was there for the meeting in the locker room and Max wanted to know where Laurel was. “The assistant had to leave. I am so happy that she didn’t mess it up. I was worried about it, but you guys did a great job.”

Max was surprised to hear the old man’s words. It was clear that he was taking all of the credit for the night and he hadn’t even been there. It shouldn’t have bothered Max, it was none of his business, but he didn’t like Laurel being pushed aside like that.

The team all went to the party afterwards. Max was getting used to the new people and he liked most of them. When he asked Zach later about Laurel, he just shook his head. “I am telling you Max, she is off limits.”

“I was known to get who I wanted at my last school.” He didn’t see that changing, but Zach wasn’t convinced.

“I don’t care if you are Castanova. I am telling you, Laurel is different. She doesn’t date college guys and I don’t think anyone has actually seen her with someone before.”

Max agreed, but he didn’t care. Sometimes it was all about the journey, not just the end. She was his end and he was sure that he would have her. No one could resist his charm for too long and Max was sure that Laurel would be no different.

“So is she coming here?”

“You don’t get it. Laurel won’t come to one of these things or any of the frat parties. She is too good or something, but you will never see her at one of these things.”

Max was hoping she would come, but it was clear that his roommate thought that it wasn’t going to actually happen. He just didn’t know him that was all it was. Max nudged Zach and smiled back at him. “No way huh?”

He started to move towards the door. He was drawn to the woman and when their eyes met she stopped in her tracks. “Hello coach. It is good to see you here. I was told that you didn’t come to these things.”

“Yes, well, my friend insisted and I felt obligated.”

Max wondered if that was true. He was sure that if it was, there was certainly not going to be a confession. She seemed uptight and even in a party dress and heels she looked to be in charge. He had never been attracted to the type A personality, but he was starting to question that decision.

“I was wondering where you got the ideas for some of those plays. They are very unusual, but I can see they are effective.”

She relaxed, much more comfortable talking about football and strategy, than talking about school and gossip. “My father used to coach for a time and I grew up on the sidelines, watching him. It wasn’t hard to pick it up and I started playing with his strategies some. I must say, I was worried about how you would do, but you picked up quickly.”

He was almost shocked that she had paid him a compliment. “I was just following instructions. What happened to you after the game? The other coach came by and took all of your thunder.”

Laurel just shrugged. “It’s his show. I am just the assistant. He is already sore that I got the job in the first place, so he likes to let me know every chance he gets.”

Max would have been more upset. She didn’t seem too bothered by it and he knew that she was a better person than he was about it. Max would have told the old man off a long time before. “Do you want me to get you a drink?”

“No thanks. I am not staying long.”

“You are always quick to leave.”

“I have lots to do. We all can’t be winning quarterbacks that get the royal treatment.”

“I like the sound of that. What is the royal treatment?”

Laurel just shook her head. “You are not getting it from me, but Denise and Amber have been eying you all night. Go get them tiger.”

She walked off without waiting for an answer and Max was left with mixed feelings. She was feisty, he would give her that. Looking at over where she had indicated, he saw the girls that he had met from before and smiled at them as they made their way over. It seemed that even the girls knew about Laurel and didn’t mess with her.

“Hello ladies. How are you guys doing tonight?”

He had his eyes on the brunette and he knew that it was because of Laurel. Denise, as he came to find out was her name, was nothing like Laurel though. She was practically begging for it after a wine cooler and Max was unable to say no. The two went up the stairs to find somewhere quiet to be alone.

Neither one was paying attention to Laurel. She had seen it all and even though she had pushed him in the woman’s direction, there was still a pinch of something in her that didn’t want to see him go. She was sure that she was being silly, but there was a moment of loss.

Laurel shook it off. The guy was a trouble maker and though she didn’t know what it was that had him sent here, she knew that it was done as a favor for his father. Billy had brought her up to speed on the new player, but there was not much detail of why he had been expelled in the first place from his last school. She could tell he was bad news and that was all she needed to know.

She didn’t date college guys, learning her lesson freshman year. She had dated one of the guys from the football team and it had turned into a mess. Since he had left and she had been made assistant coach, Laurel swore to herself that she wouldn’t let a little lust get in the way again. Max was the very essence of lust and just for that reason alone, she knew that she had to keep her distance.

It didn’t change that she had felt something when her eyes had met his dark brown ones. There was something inside of them that promised her that it would be worth it, but Laurel had rules and she had to stick to them or it would drive her crazy. Finally deciding it was time to leave, Laurel went back to her apartment and her cat.

It was better that way. Or at least that is what she told herself anyways.

Chapter 4

Laurel got up early the next morning. Her roommate was still passed out in bed. She was sure that she had a hangover. It was one of the main reasons that Laurel didn’t drink, besides the whole lowered inhibitions part of it that made it a hard one to do. She couldn’t make a misstep with her position on the football team. The last thing Laurel needed was to get caught with her panties down.

So instead, she took all of her frustration and tried to run it off. It was a beautiful morning, the air was still cool, but once she got moving, it felt good on her heated skin. She had her earbuds in and was listening to her tunes as she made her way to the park. It was one of her favorite places, full of live oaks that were older than anything else around. It was a peaceful place and the whole loop was five miles.

Halfway through she stopped at a drinking fountain to get something to drink when she heard her name. Out of all the people that she expected to see there, she hadn’t thought about Max being there. He was shirtless and the basketball shorts he was wearing was riding low on his hips. Looking away after a minute, she asked him what he was doing there.

“Well my coach told me that I had to work on my stamina, so I figured I would go for a run. Zach says this is the place to go for that.”

“It is. Your coach is right. You look like you could use a little toning up.”

He smirked at her and started off towards her. Laurel knew that he wasn’t going to let it go and he was beside her for the rest of her run. Max was pretty charming when he wanted to be and she tried to forget that he had already paired off with one of the girls from her class. Denise was an airhead, but she was gorgeous. Laurel was sure that was the type of girl that he preferred. Why was she even worried about it?

“We should go out sometime Laurel.  I would really like to talk to you without my side feeling like it’s twisting.”

She just laughed at him. “If you would have more stamina, you wouldn’t feel that way I bet.”

“Maybe so. So is that a yes then?”

Laurel shook her head. “That’s a no. Sorry, you aren’t my type.”

“What is your type?”

He was leaning in a little and she thought for a second that he was going to kiss her, but he didn’t. Laurel wasn’t quite feeling relief, but something else all-together. “I don’t know.”

“Well then how do you know I am not it?”

She just did. He was a dangerous type of man and she had learned her lesson with his type before. “Well you are the type of guy that doesn’t date anyways.”

“You don’t know me Laurel.”

“I don’t, but I know guys like you. You have been here a couple of days and have managed to find the easiest women on campus. Do you really think that it is a coincidence?”

She was being harsh, she knew it, but there was only one way to stop all of the drama. It wasn’t like she hadn’t dated guys like him before, it was what type her body wanted, but they were not so good for the heart. That was the problem with bad boys. They always were bad in the end. It didn’t mean that they weren’t very good at some things, but the rest of it was a mess to deal with.

“Well the girl I want doesn’t want me, so what am I supposed to do?”

Laurel shook her head. “Nothing I suppose. But it’s good to know that you didn’t pine too hard for her.”

She had stopped to talk to him, but after her last words, she was ready to go on and do something else. There was no way that she was going to get involved with a guy like Max again. He had just moved there and already had her mind missing some aspects of her old relationship. The parts of it that were good, were really good. Looking over at the man still beside her, bare chested and hard, it was easy to imagine what a guy like him could offer. Her weakness was hard muscles and with a knowing look from Max, she wondered if he knew that.

He didn’t say much else the rest of the way back. She could tell where his eyes stayed most of the time and she tried to ignore the tingling in her body because of it. Laurel was impressed that he stuck with her. He was not a runner, she could tell by his thick muscles, but he went just as far as she did. When she finally stopped, he made a sound of sweet relief that made her giggle a little.

“Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Max looked at her as if she may be crazy. “So bad? Do you do that a lot?”

“Every morning. It helps wake me up.”

He didn’t seem too happy about the idea of doing that every day. “I never did like running, but you are good at keeping me motivated.”

“Really? You kept falling behind.”

Max nodded, “Yes motivation.”

She felt herself turning a little red. The man was impossible and he was doing a good job of making her think of things that she wasn’t supposed to. “Well that very well may be, but it looks like you are about to fall down. Maybe running isn’t the best idea for you. You should take it slow.”

He didn’t know what she was referring to, but Max didn’t like that speed and had no intentions on using it in a situation he was in now. Max had not pulled her too him and tried to take her breath away. He was moving as slow as he could.

“So can I run with you in the morning?”

“You really want to? You just said you don’t like running.”

“Yeah, but my coach was right. I need more stamina. All night long isn’t enough apparently.”

Again he was making innuendos that made her blush and she was finding it hard to meet his gaze. “You are horrible, you know it?”

He nodded that he did and he was finally close to her again. Her aquamarine eyes looked up at him for a minute and he needed her then. Leaning in to brush his lips across hers, Laurel moved back before he could. Max didn’t realize she had moved at first and when he did, he apologized. She had just looked at him in such a way, that all he could think about was kissing her. Her lips had been begging him for it and he felt like he had to obey.

“It’s okay Max. I just don’t date guys from this school. It becomes too complicated.”

“Sometimes complication is a good thing, pushes you to your limits.”

She sighed. “That may very well be, but how can I be a coach, if I am sleeping with the players?”

“Who said anything about sleeping together? All I wanted was a little kiss.”

Laurel blushed. Her mind had instantly gone to them in bed. Maybe she was the bad one with the dirty mind. “A kiss leads to more, so I think we should not tempt fate.”

Max agreed, but he wanted to tempt fate very badly. She was gorgeous and the very fact that she had already taken him to bed in her imagination, said a lot to Max. It gave him hope that she would come around to his ways. He wasn’t sure how he would convince her, but Max was now sure that he could. Did she know what she was doing to him? If she did, she was a bit of a tease and if she didn’t, he was in trouble. The woman oozed sexual desires and by the look in her eyes, she really didn’t know it. It might have been a good thing that she refused to date her peers and players. He knew that most of the team would jump at the chance if given one, but Max wanted his chance.

“Well I got to go get ready for class. Thanks for the run Max.”

“Are you going to be at practice later?”

She nodded. “Of course. Billy doesn’t come to practices anymore and barely comes to games. I am starting to wonder what it is the school actually pays him for.”

“The legend of him.”

Laurel looked up and smiled. It was how she felt about it and it was nice to think that she wasn’t the only one that felt that way. “Yeah maybe.”

“Can I have that kiss?”

Her eyes went to his lips and for a second, she wanted to bend down and give him what he asked so nicely for. She couldn’t though and ended up shaking her head no. “It would just lead to a mistake.”

“I am willing to take that chance.”

“I bet you are, but it’s my job and future in the balance. I just can’t.”

He watched her go, not trying to stop her again. The woman had made her mind up and there wasn’t really anything that he could do about it. All he could do was try to move on or pine for her properly. The thought made him smile to himself. If ever a woman was due some pining, he figured it was her. But how long could he go without what he truly needed? He wasn’t certain and in a way, didn’t want to find out.