Page 24
CHAPTER 24
Rafferty
I ’m pulled out of the hottest dream I think I’ve ever had. Tempe’s skilled mouth on my cock, sucking and licking and I’m racing toward a fast orgasm. It’s the light scrape of her nails across my chest and a rumbling moan from her that vibrates straight through to my balls that has me opening my eyes.
In the early-morning rays coming through the blinds, I see I’m not in a dream at all. Tempe’s head bobs up and down on me. The realization that she’s woken me up with a blow job has my hips punching upward and she makes a slight choking sound, followed by a laugh.
“I see you’re enjoying that,” Tempe murmurs, her eyes locking with mine, a mischievous grin on her lips.
My chest swells along with my dick, feeling a rush of pleasure not only from the sensations of her mouth on me but also from her show of desire. “You certainly know how to wake a man up,” I manage to say, my timbre rough and low.
Tempe chuckles, planting a gentle kiss on the tip of my straining erection. “Just lie back and enjoy while I finish you off.”
As I watch Tempe, I revel in the intensity of our connection, and it’s been getting stronger day after day. It’s as if we’ve known each other for lifetimes and yet, we’ve only just met. This feeling fuels my desire for her even more, making every touch, every kiss, all the more consuming.
Tempe slowly takes me deeper into her mouth and I close my eyes to concentrate on the sensation, letting out a low groan of pleasure. Her hands gently cup my balls, massaging them tenderly, and when she sucks extra hard on the head of my cock, I bark, “Fuck, that’s good.”
She goes back to bobbing, adding her hand into the action by squeezing and stroking.
“I’m going to come,” I rasp, fingers gripping tight into the bedsheets so I’m not tempted to grab her head.
Her pace picks up and I know she’s on a mission to make me see stars. The pleasure builds, a heat and energy that emanate from my lower belly and spread throughout my entire body. My heart beats faster, my breathing becomes shallow and ragged, and I know that I’m on the verge of losing my shit.
Tempe senses it too, her eyes locking with mine as she sucks. She looks like a predator closing in for the kill, her focus intense and her movements precise. It’s incredibly erotic, and I can’t help but be turned on even more by the sight of her skilled mouth working its magic on me.
“So fucking close,” I say hoarsely, and yet I try to hold off because I never want this to end.
Tempe’s eyes glint with anticipation of my undoing. She quickens her pace, her head moving rapidly, her lips and tongue working overtime to bring me to the edge.
“Oh fuck!” I cry out, my body tensing as the waves of pleasure crash over me, making me babble delirious things. Tempe’s hands tighten around my thighs, pulling me even deeper into her mouth as she continues to suck and lick at my most sensitive places.
My hips buck uncontrollably against the thrust of ecstasy that courses through me and I’m not sure I’ve ever come that hard before.
She gives me one more gentle suck, pulling off me like she just had the most enjoyable lollipop. It’s sexy as fuck when she licks her bottom lip.
“Come here,” I growl, lunging up to grab her under the arms and pulling her naked body on top of mine. My hand goes to the back of her head and I bring her down for a scorching kiss, tasting the remnants of my orgasm on her tongue.
I roll her onto her back, kiss her one more time. “I’m going to fuck you, but I need to recharge.”
She grins back at me. “Sounds like a lovely morning plan. Let’s snuggle for a while.”
Shaking my head, I leer at her. “I’m going to snuggle, but it’s not what you’re thinking.”
Tempe gasps as my head dips, latching my lips onto her breast. I lick around her nipple, then kiss my way down her belly, with the intent to return the oral favor and I won’t be satisfied until she comes at least twice.
The doorbell rings and I lift my head. My eyes lock with Tempe and she shrugs.
“Who the fuck could be here at…” I glance at the bedside clock. “Eight thirty in the morning on New Year’s Day?”
I have no clue if Farren is awake or if she’s even here. Her bedroom door was closed when we got home last night but the doorbell rings again, and I know I have to answer it.
“Shit,” I mutter, rolling off the bed and grabbing a pair of workout shorts and a T-shirt from my dresser. I glance at Tempe. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
The bell rings a third time just as I’m almost to the door, which tells me this isn’t some solicitation. I glance through the peephole and am stunned to see Brienne Norcross standing there, Drake at her side, causing me to jerk back.
I think I must be seeing things, so I look once again, and yup… one of the richest people in the world, owner of the Titans and my boss, is on the other side.
“Who is it?” Tempe asks and I look over my shoulder to see her standing there in a pair of leggings and a baggy T-shirt, lips slightly swollen from her ministrations.
“You’ll never believe,” I reply and since we’re both presentable, I open the door without further delay.
Brienne and Drake both look ridiculously fashionable and fresh, Brienne in a chic wrap coat in buttery leather and Drake in a charcoal gray peacoat.
“Good morning,” Brienne says with a light smile on her face, hands clasped before her.
Drake lifts his chin in greeting, but I can see the amused glint in his eye that they’re catching me unaware.
“Good morning,” I say, my throat still a little hoarse from the shouting I did minutes ago when I came in Tempe’s mouth. The back of my neck heats at that thought, that perhaps they were on the other side of my door and heard me.
“Can we come in?” Brienne asks politely.
I jolt out of my confusion and mumble a hasty apology. “Yes, of course. Come in.”
Brienne and Drake step past me, and as I’m shutting the door, I see Tempe moving forward. She holds out her hand to Brienne to shake, and we’re both surprised when Brienne gives Tempe a hug. “Happy New Year.”
“And to you,” Tempe murmurs.
Drake smiles at her.
“Can we have some coffee?” Brienne asks.
That has me jumping into action. “Yeah, sure. We just woke up. Sorry if I’m a little discombobulated.”
I lead everyone into the kitchen but it’s Tempe who moves to the coffee maker, which we’d set the night before and is ready with a piping-hot brew made of a lovely bean I picked up in Washington State over the summer called Three Peckered Billy Goat.
Tempe fixes everyone coffee—cream for Brienne, black for me and Drake—before she pours herself a cup. Brienne makes small talk and I tell her about the party at Foster’s house last night.
It’s only after Tempe is seated with us at the kitchen island and Brienne takes a sip of coffee does she say, “I’m sorry to drop in unannounced. I was going to call you, but we had plans to go out to breakfast and thought we’d stop by. I hope that’s okay.”
What am I going to say? No, sorry Brienne… I was getting ready to fuck my girlfriend and a call would have been nice . Of course not, because I know damn well she’s here about Tansy and I appreciate the face-to-face. “You’re welcome here anytime. I assume you talked to Tansy?”
Brienne grimaces as she nods, as if the memory of the conversation is slightly bitter. “She denied she was behind the false doping allegations.”
“I expected no less,” I say.
“Same,” Brienne agrees, her finger tracing the edge of her coffee cup. “I did present her with your drug test results to see if that would prompt her to fess up.”
Tempe leans forward. “But I thought those would take a week to get back.”
Drake chuckles, putting his hand to the back of his wife’s neck and giving it an affectionate squeeze. “When Brienne wants something done, she gets it done. She had put an expedited request in the day the test was taken and they came in just about half an hour before Tansy arrived.”
“Fortuitous,” Tempe murmurs with a wry smile. “But it didn’t loosen her lips?”
Brienne shakes her head. “Nope. She was sticking to her story, so I made her an offer.”
“An offer?” I ask. Because I didn’t really think Tansy had room to negotiate, but I hold that thought to myself.
Brienne sips her coffee, then says, “I told her I would continue to investigate and expose her, not just within our organization but publicly. I made it clear that her actions not only targeted you, Rafferty, but they were an attack on the team’s integrity. They were ultimately an attack on me. I also told her that the fact we share blood had no bearing on this and that no one gets away with hurting me or my team.”
I watch mesmerized, Brienne’s expression hard and unyielding. I’m a little in awe, and maybe a little in love with her.
“Ultimately, I gave her a choice,” Brienne continues. “Confess the truth and I’d let her resign quietly with no further action on my part. However, if she wanted to continue to lie to me, I’d ruin her. I promised to expose her entire scheme to the world and she’d never work in marketing again.”
“And she confessed all?” Tempe asks.
“Not right away. She was stubborn so I stepped out of the office, told her I’d give her fifteen minutes to think it over. As I was walking out the door, I told her I was going to have my attorneys ready to call the police to investigate her for fraud, and that’s when she chose to resign.”
“After confessing the truth, start to finish,” Drake adds. “Her story matched yours, Rafferty, although she downplayed the stalking. She did shed a lot of crocodile tears though, begging forgiveness and asking to keep her job.”
“But that was not an option,” Brienne says.
“So she’s gone?” I ask, somewhat in disbelief that it was just that easy. Brienne had no hard evidence Tansy was involved, only used a threat to get her to cave.
Incredible.
“I had security ready to escort her to her office and her personal effects were cleared out, her login credentials and arena pass disabled. She’s gone.”
I consider the gravity of the moment, but I can only think of one thing to say to Brienne. “I’m really sorry. I know that had to be hard on you, given she’s family.”
Brienne offers me a sympathetic smile. “There are many definitions of the word family . This team is my family. You’re my family. Tansy is my family. But love, respect and trust are earned, not automatically given by blood. In this instance, I had to choose one family member over another, and I would make that same choice, time and again.”
Damn if that doesn’t choke me up, but I manage not to fuck up my words. I exhale a heavy breath, relief mingling with a surge of gratitude. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
I glance at Tempe, see her eyes shining with a mist of tears.
Brienne and Drake stand from their stools, and Tempe and I follow. “We’ll get out of your hair so we can go enjoy our New Year’s breakfast.” She moves to Tempe and gives her a hug and then does the same to me. “The PR team is finalizing a statement to distribute to the press today, along with releasing your drug test results. We’ll say that someone falsified the photos and reports, but we won’t disclose it was Tansy. I’ll uphold my end of the bargain to her. I hope that’s okay with you?”
“Of course,” I assure her. “I don’t want her ruined. Just want her to leave me alone.”
“I think that’s a given,” Brienne says. “Reporters will be hounding you for a statement and I think you should give one tomorrow after the game. That will be soon enough.”
“Meaning Rafferty will be playing?” Tempe asks with excitement.
Brienne smiles. “Yes… suspension is officially lifted.”
That hits me all at once. Back on the ice. Back to the game I love, cleared of all charges. “Thank you. I’m ready to put this all behind me.”
We walk Brienne and Drake to the door, offering more thanks, but when they’re gone, Tempe dances with excitement. “Oh yeah, oh yeah. That bitch is gone, oh yeah.”
Laughing, I grab her and give her a swift kiss, picking her up and swinging her around. “What a way to start the new year, huh?”
Tempe’s arms tighten around me and she laughs with joy. But then she whispers in my ear, causing me to nearly drop her. “I think the better way to start the new year was what you were getting ready to do to me in bed, don’t you think?”
I’m a smart man and couldn’t agree more. Scooping her all the way up, I carry her back to the bedroom, intent on sealing our January 1 memories into something we’ll never forget.