10. CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 10
SIERRA
We drove to Kason’s house for him to change before driving to the convention center where the team signing is to take place. Kason has not been able to keep his eyes off my body and grumbled more than once, “Those heels are going to be the death of me,” and would then promptly adjust himself. He’s in a suit today and looks scrumptious.
I love the idea that only looking at me makes him hard. I’ve found that Kason has no problem expressing himself verbally or physically, and I can’t get enough of his reactions or words telling me so. His hands have fisted the whole way here, and I can assume he’s trying to keep them to himself because his face displays arousal and not anger. His driver stops at a back door where security stands.
Kason gets out, takes my hand, and leads me inside. He’s greeted by so many people, and though he introduces me to them, I’ll never remember all of their names. I can only assume they have something to do with football. He uses some of their titles, but I’m clueless as to what most of them represent. Sometimes when I’m speaking with a man, Kason’s grip on my hand tightens and his jaw tics as he grits his teeth.
When we get a quick moment to ourselves, Kason takes the opportunity to whisper into my ear. “These men can’t stop picturing you naked, and I want to kill each and every one of them that thinks they have a right to imagine you that way.”
His warm breath tickles my neck and sends shivers down my spine. His words are obsessive about me. We’ve known each other for such a short time, so that can’t be true. I know he wants me, but I don’t know how long that will last. I don’t think I’m destined for forever with any man. I don’t know if I can allow myself to depend on any man for my happiness.
A man with blond hair comes over to us and shakes Kason’s hand before Kason turns to me. “Sierra, I’d like you to meet Braxton Kinsley, my agent. Brax, this is Sierra.”
Brax turns to me. “Hello, Sierra. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hello, Brax. It’s nice to meet you too.” He’s a handsome man with blue eyes and a little bit of a beard graces his jawline. Although he’s an attractive man, he doesn’t have any effect on me, not the way that Kason does, and I wonder if any man ever could. If so, I’ve yet to find him.
I notice Kason curiously glancing between us as if studying our interaction, and I’m reminded of our conversation in the restaurant a week ago when he told me how his ex cheated on him with his former agent. If he’s concerned that my eyes see any man in this room other than him, he shouldn’t be.
Brax asks Kason a question, and they start talking about the signing. Brax seems very stoic in his answers. He’s not rude, but his words are quick to get the point across. Saying much with very few words. I have the feeling he’s tough as nails, and I like thinking that Kason has someone like him in his corner now.
Leaving them to their conversation, I take the opportunity to scan the room. There are tables set up with players already signing autographs and footballs. Kason explained to me that he has an hour time slot for signing. We got here a half an hour early, but I imagine his time is coming up soon.
I catch sight of a pretty red-haired woman staring at us. She’s standing with a few other women, but her attention isn’t on whatever they’re talking about. It’s focused on me. When she realizes I caught her staring, she turns her attention back to the women she’s standing with. I look down at my outfit and compare it to how the other women are dressed. It’s not much different than what they’re wearing so I have no idea what that woman’s gawking was about.
When it’s finally Kason’s turn, he gives me a chaste kiss and tells me he’ll meet me in this same spot after his signing is finished. While he’s doing his thing, I meet some other players’ wives and girlfriends and everyone is friendly, if not, taken aback to hear I’m here with Kason. One woman even said she has never seen Kason bring someone to an event before she realizes how it came out and quiets. I don’t mind because I already know he hasn’t been in a relationship for five years. I feel special knowing he wanted me here, which is the complete opposite of his modus operandi.
I spend most of the hour watching him do his thing. He’s charismatic and engaging with his fans, smiling the whole time, shaking hands, and taking pictures. I can see why he’s a fan favorite. I love watching him with the kids more. He’s animated and talks easily with them. Every kid leaves with a smile on their face when their turn is over.
Eventually, I excuse myself from the ladies to use the restroom. A kind guard gives me directions to a private restroom for players and their families, and I head in that direction. Once inside, I find it empty, and after I finish up, I leave the stall to walk up to wash my hands at the sink when the door opening grabs my attention. The redhead that was staring at me waltzes through, and when she spots me, she strides up to the sink next to me, pulls out a lipstick, and starts to apply it .
As I grab a paper towel to dry my hands, my eyes lock with hers in the mirror and she’s once again taking me in. This time, she’s wearing a scowl that quickly changes to a smile as she shifts on her feet to face me. Never one to back away, I turn to face her knowing she has something to say. Good or bad, she’s got my attention. I’d like to think I’m a fairly good judge of character and hers isn’t looking too good.
“Can I help you with something?” My tone is friendly enough, even though I really want to ask what her problem is.
“I see you’re here with Kason Morgan.”
Ah, so this is her issue. Kason.
“I am.” I don’t answer with anything else, waiting to see where she goes with this.
“Be careful, honey. He’s not one to give your heart to. I have girlfriends who have dated him in the past, and he leaves a trail of broken hearts wherever he goes. He’ll chew you up and spit you out and not care one bit that he left you a weeping mess on the floor.” She lays a comforting hand on my forearm as if to soothe me with the news. I’d throw it off if I weren’t enticed by the game I know she’s playing.
If she’s inviting me to the field to play, then she best be ready to bring her game.
“Really? Tell me more,” I ask as if I’m intrigued.
She gives me a sad smile. “Yes, unfortunately, it’s true. Don’t be taken in by his good looks. It’s only right that I warn you. We girls have got to stick together.” If I thought for a single moment her girl power words were sincere, I’d appreciate the gesture. My gut assures me she’s as fake as her surgically enhanced breasts that she has on display in a halter top dress barely covering her nipples.
If it’s a game of checkers she wants, then I’ll happily play chess.
“I appreciate you letting me know. You’re right, us women have to look out for each other. I should definitely stay away from him.” I pause and she smiles a winning smile in my direction. I plan to wipe it right off her face. “But I think I’ll just continue to use him and that big, fat cock of his for a little while. Any woman would be crazy not to take advantage of it, right?”
Her hand drops from my arm as if she’s been burned as her eyes widen and her jaw drops. Good. Just the reaction I was looking for. This time it’s me wearing a winning smile. I shift on my feet and leave the room, letting her stew on that for a while.
When I reach the area that I was previously standing at, Kason is there looking around, I assume wondering where I went. I shift around him to his front with my back to the fans, facing the bathroom I just exited.
His eyes zero in on me before he links our hands together. “Where’d you go?”
“Oh, I had to use the little girl’s room.”
“I thought you may have left.” He doesn’t even try to hide the fact that the thought bothered him.
“No, but I do have something, or rather someone, I’d like to ask you about.” I’d be an idiot if I didn’t ask him about the woman I spoke with in the bathroom.
He cocks his head to the side. “What or who do you want to ask me about?”
Just then, I notice the woman leaving the restroom, wearing a frown on her fake puffy lips. Her head swivels until she locks eyes on us. She glances down at our linked hands, grimaces, then turns and walks off in a huff until she stops at some man with short, light brown hair. I feel Kason squeeze my hands, and I peer back up at him, realizing he’s probably waiting for an answer to his question.
“Do you know that woman standing over there with that man by the banner?” I jerk my chin in that direction, and when he sees the woman, his body stiffens, alerting me that he does in fact know who she is.
He turns his attention back to me. “That’s Meegan. ”
Okay, that gives me her name but not how he knows her. “Elaborate.” What he’s given me isn’t enough, not after what I just dealt with in the bathroom. He’s quiet at first, and I know he’s reluctant, but I can be stubborn if I need to be and refuse to leave this spot until he does.
He relents and says, “Meegan is my ex, the one I told you about in the restaurant, and standing next to her is the agent she was screwing around with that I fired. Why do you ask?”
He says this fast and with annoyance. My initial thought of her when I caught her staring at us was that she was pretty, but after what I experienced with her and knowing now exactly who she is, I think she’s the ugliest bitch I’ve ever seen. How could she have a virile, handsome, and honest man like Kason and do what she did to him?
And I do believe he is honest. It’s just a feeling I have. When he repeated his drunk words to me in my kitchen when he was sober, I believed him. When he said he wanted to spend more time with me, I believed him. I feel like I can believe him.
He made his thoughts and intentions clear this morning, and I had no other choice than to agree because he’s right, and I feel the same insane pull to him as he feels for me. His words were sincere and convinced me to take a chance to see where this attraction leads.
I’m broken from my thoughts when he says my name and I turn my attention back to him. “You didn’t answer my question. Why did you ask about her?”
“She came into the bathroom and basically warned me away from you.”
His lips tighten before he growls. “Damn it!”
He releases my hands to turn in their direction, and I know he’s going over there to confront her. In the crowded place with cameras, I can’t allow him to ruin his reputation because of some ugly words between her and me. I quickly grab his arm and urge him with a tug to face me. He reluctantly does. “ Please don’t go over there and make a scene. I gave it back to her, plus some. I don’t think she’ll approach me again.”
He grinds his teeth and appears to debate listening to me or going over there anyway. I take the decision right out of his hands. I reach behind his neck and pull him down to me where my lips connect with his.
He stands stock still at first, but then his arms wrap around my waist, and he kisses me back. This kiss isn’t as chaste like the first one, but as he goes to deepen it further, that is when I pull away. We are in a public place for Christ’s sake and one of us has got to keep that in mind.
He frowns, not happy about it, but I give him a promise. “There’s more of that when we get back to your place.”
His frown disappears and he gives a sharp nod. “We’re leaving.”
Sounds good to me. He takes my hand and leads us out of the convention center but not before I look over at Meegan one last time. She appears to be fuming. Good, she caught that.
Not one for wanting to take the high road, I blow her a kiss over my shoulder.
Take that, troll!
Later that evening we’re lying in bed facing each other. We’re naked except for my panties which he joked about. He said I could make grandma panties sexy, and I explained that every girl has certain panties they wear on their period—something he was amused to learn.
Although I got the upper hand with Meegan, I feel I need to speak to him about what she said because if I don’t, I know I might question her warning later .
“About Meegan…” I start because I’m feeling a little unsure of how to broach this subject.
He groans. “And now my dick is soft. I don’t want to talk about that bitch.” I don’t blame him, and I don’t want to force it, but what she said needs to be discussed. His eyes scan my face, and he must see in my eyes that this is important to me, so he reluctantly relents. “What about her?”
“Aren’t you the least bit curious to know what she said to me?”
He thinks for a moment then his body tightens as if it’s ready for battle. “Go on.”
Hmm. Where do I start? I guess from the beginning. I explain to him how I first caught her staring at me and what she said about him dating her friends, breaking hearts, and not caring when he leaves them crying. He doesn’t interrupt and lets me expel it all.
When I’m done he’s quick to explain. He holds up a finger. “First, I never dated any of her friends. I never dated period. I hooked up, but I wasn’t wining and dining anyone, so there were never any hearts to break.” He holds up another finger. “Second, and this is important to understand, I don’t intend to break your heart. I told you that you're different, and I meant it. No woman, outside Louise and my mother has ever stepped foot in this house because I didn’t want them here.” He’s so adamant that I do believe him. He hasn’t given me a reason yet not to trust what he tells me.
“I don’t understand why she would say those things to me then. If she left you for this other man, why was she being so vengeful to me?”
“Meegan wants what she can no longer have. She’s used to getting her way, and for years, she got everything she needed from me. She grew up in an abusive household with an alcoholic father, and I was always buying her things or finding ways to make her happy. My cousin thought she was taking advantage of me. I didn’t want to see it at first, but I eventually realized he was right. ”
He could have shied away from this conversation, but I’m glad he’s being open and honest with me. I need honesty. He seems to be an open book, while that’s hard for me to do. I don’t like being vulnerable to anyone. I spent my first eight years being that way.
I hate to verbalize this next part, but I’m curious how he will respond. “You wanted to take care of her because you loved her, and she mattered to you and maybe in some way she always will,” I murmur softly.
Why does the thought of another woman meaning so much to him bother me and have me concerned?
He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he stares at me as if he’s deep in thought. I wait on bated breath for him to respond.
“I can’t say I didn’t care for her or that she didn’t matter to me because that would be a lie. But,” he pauses for a few moments, “looking back, I don’t think I was ever truly in love with her, and when I caught her and Alex together, I was angry but there was also a sense of relief because deep down I knew it needed to end. I just didn’t want to be the one to hurt her. She gave me the way out I needed with clean hands and no regrets. As far as her mattering to me, she doesn’t at all because there’s someone who means more to me in just a couple of weeks than she did in the years we were together. He lifts a hand and brushes a piece of hair behind my ear. “You matter to me, Sierra,” he says so softly I have to listen closely.
My heart pitter-patters inside my chest. What this man does to me defies everything I’ve ever thought I was capable of feeling, and as much as it worries me, it’s not enough to scare me off. If this man can convince me to give him a piece of my heart, I hope he’ll handle it with care.