The Billion Dollar Player: A Billionaire's Club Story (11 page)

“Let her cool off, too, Jase,” Carson said as though he’d read Jase’s mind. He led him away from the group, into the study, and Jase reluctantly followed. His entire body had gone numb. Despite his swollen and bloodied knuckles, his heart that was damned near pounding out of his chest, and the buzz in his brain that beat out a steady rhythm between his ears, Jase felt none of it. He was a shell: a void of nothingness. Avery had taken his very soul when she’d turned her back on him and walked away.

“I love her, Carson,” Jase said as his knees gave out. Thank god there’d been a chair to catch him. “I didn’t realize it until just now, but
goddamn
. I fucking love her.”

“It’s about time you caught up,” Carson said with a laugh. “I’ve been trying to tell you that for days.”

“What am I going to do?”

“You’ll figure it out.”

Jase didn’t appreciate the knowing smile on his friend’s face, as though Jase was about to be inducted into some secret club. He didn’t want to
figure it out
. He wanted answers. He wanted to turn back the clock. Fix everything between them. Keep himself from treating her like a fucking lucky charm in the first place. He wanted someone to bring Avery back to him, damn it. “What if I don’t? What if she just turns me away?”

“Come on,” Carson replied. “You’re
the
Jason Blackwell. You don’t know how to quit.”

God, he hoped that was true. Because he knew without a doubt that Avery was the one thing in this world he couldn’t afford to lose.

“Super Bowl, baby!” Carson shouted with enthusiasm Jase wished he felt. “Best game of your life, man. I can already feel the weight of that ring on my finger. There’s no way you won’t get MVP with the post-season you’ve had, Jase. Phenomenal.”

It was a dream come true. His life’s goal so close to being realized. But the AFC championship win, hell, even the prospect of going to the Super Bowl was hollow and empty without the one person he wanted to celebrate with. As the plane touched down, Jase’s stomach rocketed up into his throat. He’d never get used to flying. It was the flight that had him out of sorts and not the prospect of what he was about to do. A week had passed and Avery refused to answer his calls or texts. Tonight, though, she was going to hear him out whether she liked it or not. So yeah, it was the flight that had Jase tied into knots and not the prospect of Avery’s negative reaction to him showing up at her apartment without an invitation.

“You want to come over? It’s just Gena and me, but she’d love to have you over for dinner. We can wind down and veg in front of the television.”

“No thanks. I’ve got somewhere to be.”

“Ah. Gotcha.”

The plane taxied to a stop and the captain announced that they could move around the plane. Jase grabbed his bag and shouldered his way into the aisle, impatient to get the hell out of there. “Hey, Carson, can you grab my suitcase? I don’t want to wait around.”

“Got it!” he called. “And good luck!”

Jase didn’t need luck. He just needed Avery to listen.

For most of his adult life Jase had been surrounded by false friends and hangers-on. Gold diggers and fame seekers all wanting a piece of what he had for one reason or another. But Avery had only wanted him. Jase. Not the rich kid. Not the football star. She hadn’t cared about any of that other stuff. She was
real
and what they’d had was real, too. Jase refused to let her go without a fight.

∗∗∗

Avery slid the soufflé into the oven and eased the door closed. Only a week in and semester break was already too long, leaving her with too much free time to let her thoughts run rampant. And each and every one of them centered on Jason Blackwell. She was supposed to be using the time off from school to find another job. The money she’d put away wasn’t going to last forever, and since she’d given Peyton her notice the day after Carson and Gena’s party, she’d been living off the meager savings. If she didn’t find a job soon, she’d lose her apartment. And crappy as it might be, it beat sleeping in a Dumpster any day.

Instead, her every waking moment had been occupied with thoughts of him. How long did it take for a broken heart to heal? She’d quit her job to avoid seeing him at any team functions, and likewise, she’d further depleted her savings when she left a check in his mailbox to cover the costs for the car repairs he’d paid for. None of it gave her closure, though. It didn’t help to sew up the gaping hole in her heart.

Avery gathered up the dirty mixing bowls and utensils and put them into the sink to soak as a knock came at her door. Kristie had been trying to get her to go out and have some fun for days. Maybe her friend was tired of being shot down. Little did she know that Avery didn’t succumb to peer pressure. No forcible partying for this girl.

“Kristie, I don’t want to go out …” The words died on Avery’s tongue as she opened the door wide and looked up, up, and
up
until her eyes met Jase’s. In just a week, she’d forgotten how tall he was, how masculine and imposing his presence. How damned
good
he smelled. “Jase.” God, even the sound of his name was a sensory experience, the word tingling on her tongue.

His gaze bore through her, the whiskey-brown depths devouring her with an intensity that beaded her skin with sweat. The heat was unmistakable, enough to steal her breath. And even as her hand twitched on the knob, urging her to slam the door in his face, she couldn’t bring herself to follow through with the action.

She didn’t realize until this moment how much she’d missed him.

“Avery, just listen.” He must have sensed what she was about to do and he took a step forward until his large frame took up the entire doorway. She took two steps back—afraid she’d be tempted to reach out and touch—and Jase followed her inside, easing the door closed behind him. “Sweet Christ, sugar.” His voice was strained, the words ragged. “How can one woman become more beautiful in a week?”

A pang of emotion shot through her chest but Avery steeled herself against his pretty words. “Jase, what are you doing here?” Her own voice was nothing more than a whisper. “I can’t … I can’t do this with you right now.” Try
ever
. Dredging up the pain of that night was too much.

His brow furrowed while his jaw took on a stubborn set. “Well that’s too damned bad, Avery. You’re going to hear me out. I won’t let you turn your back on me again.”

She opened her mouth to protest. To tell him to get the hell out. But the words wouldn’t push past her lips. The thought of watching him walk out the door made her sick.

“Avery …” Jase raked his fingers through his tawny hair and blew out a gust of breath. So reminiscent of their last night together. “Damn. I …”

“What, Jase? Just say it.”

“Damn it, I love you!”

Avery sucked in a breath. Had she heard him correctly?

“I love you so damned much it hurts. A month was all it took for you to crawl under my skin and now I can’t live through one more day without you. I could stand here and try to apologize for what that asshole Willis said to you. But I’m not going to. Instead, I’m going to apologize for what I did to you. I’m so sorry, Avery.” He took a deep breath and held it in his lungs. “If I could do it again, I’d take it all back so you wouldn’t have to suffer an ounce of hurt and humiliation. I was a dick. A selfish asshole who never should have treated you as though you were a charm for me to keep in my pocket and use whether I truly felt that way or not. If my game was better, it was because you made me a better man. You made me
want
to be better. What we had wasn’t some stupid superstitious ritual. It was
real
. I need you, Avery. I want it all with you. And I know you want me, too.”

She wanted to believe him. The sincerity in his eyes, his words, was unmistakable. “You want it all?” she asked in a whisper, her voice quavering.

“Sugar, I want to take you home and show you off to my family. I want to wine and dine you, buy you pretty things, take you on trips. Hell, I’ll sit in this apartment all day, every day if that’s what you want. Anything to spend time with you. Avery, I
love
you.”

∗∗∗

“You hurt me.” Jase’s chest tightened as his heart clenched. “Those words took away everything good I thought or felt about myself since I’d met you. You played with my emotions and decimated my heart. I appreciate that you’re sorry, Jase, and I am, too. I never should have said the things I did. I was hurt and confused but …”

No. This sounded too much like good-bye. She had to forgive him, damn it. “Avery, don’t push me away. Don’t let my stupidity ruin what was so perfect between us. Please, just give me another chance. I won’t let you down. I’ll do whatever I have to do to prove that I’m good enough for you.”

“It’s not about being good enough. How can we have an honest relationship when it was built on dishonesty?”

“Avery.” Jase pinned her with his gaze. “I never lied to you. Everything I said when we were together was the truth. And everything I felt about you—still feel about you—is real.”

“Maybe you’re just riding the high of your success. Maybe you’re afraid of what will happen if we’re not together.”

Damn it. He refused to let her make excuses to push him away. “You’re right. I’m fucking terrified to lose you, Avery. But not because of some stupid superstition. I wouldn’t give a shit if I never played another game in my entire life. Because
none
of it—not the money, the success, anything—would matter if I don’t have you.”

Her gaze softened. “Jase.”

He hadn’t convinced her yet. There was still too much doubt in her voice. “Please give me another chance, sugar. We can go slow, I’ll do whatever it takes to earn your trust. Just … just please don’t walk away from this. Us. You know we’re good together. I love you, Avery. And I know you love me, too.”

Avery’s eyes drifted up to meet his, bright shining emeralds against a night sky. Never in his life had Jase laid eyes on a more desirable woman. One that knew him heart and soul and had seen past his wealth and fame to the man underneath. With a feather-light touch, he brushed her hair behind her ears and cupped her face in his palms. Avery’s lips parted, her expression sad and unsure. It broke his heart all over again.

A week. Seven short days apart felt like years as he kissed her. Their bodies melted into one another, his arms encircling her waist, hers coming up to grip his shoulders. Jase savored Avery’s taste, the softness of her lips, the heat of her mouth as he kissed her. Her hands wound into the fabric of his T-shirt and she held him as though afraid he’d pull away.

“I love you, Avery,” Jase whispered against her mouth. He deepened the kiss, delving into her mouth with his tongue and stroking along her bottom lip. She pulled away and studied him. Her gaze conveyed the emotion he felt. “And I’m going to tell you every minute of every day for the rest of my life until you believe it.”

She reached up to trace his jaw with the soft pad of her finger. “Maybe not
every
minute. You’re going to need some of that time to play ball if you want to win a Super Bowl anytime soon.”

There had been times growing up when Jase didn’t think he’d ever have anything. But now? He had the life he wanted, the career and respect he’d worked so hard for, and most importantly, he had the girl. Avery was everything to him. Now that he had her, he knew that he’d never need anything else.

“Will you go?” he asked. She came up on her tiptoes and planted a sweet, soft kiss on his lips. “It would mean a lot to me if you were there.”

“Are you kidding?” His lips met hers once again. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Read all three parts of the fabulously intense
Billionaire’s Club: Texas
e-series!

From St. Martin’s Press

Visit
http://mandy-baxter.com/
for more romance!

Kimberly Minter Photography

Mandy Baxter lives in rural Idaho. She’s a part-time pet wrangler, a full-time sun worshipper, and only goes out into the cold when coerced. She loves black clothes, pink appliances and thinks junk food should be a recognized food group. In the summer, she can be found sitting by the lake, enjoying the view from her dock. She also writes urban fantasy under Amanda Bonilla.