Big Win

2. Harper

Chapter Two

Harper

Alex Gordon was standing in the kitchen in my new apartment making me tea. The incongruity of it made me almost laugh aloud, but I bit it back because he was being so sweet about the whole thing. He turned back to the cabinet and started rummaging through the tea boxes in there, eventually pulling out a box of, you guessed it, English breakfast tea. It was morning, and he was British. It made such perfect sense, I finally started laughing when he turned around with the box in hand.

Alex arched a brow, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Something funny?” he asked, appearing slightly confused at my laughter.

If he was confused, well so was I, but I wasn’t in the mood to ponder it. I had no sense of how much time had passed since I’d seen the man from my nightmares jogging our way in the park this morning, but thanks to Alex, I’d managed to swat those feelings away. The relief was so great, I was off kilter. Well, that and the fact that Alex was here.

Alex was so handsome, it bordered on ridiculous. He had brown hair that verged on curly and was often rumpled as it was now. Gorgeous chocolate brown eyes were paired with that hair. Beyond the fact he had a body that was all muscle and nothing else, the chiseled features of his face with classic cheekbones and a straight blade of a nose combined together to make him pure eye candy. To make matters worse, he appeared oblivious to his devastating effect on women and tended to be aloof and quiet.

I’d met Alex in passing through Olivia and her fiancée Liam. Olivia was one of my closest friends and had fallen hard for Liam Reed who happened to sign with the Seattle Stars along with Alex and two other British soccer players. Alex was famous for his unshakable nerves under pressure as the goalkeeper, and thus far this season, he’d yet to allow a single goal from an opposing team into the net. I’d previously paid little attention to the international fervor over soccer, but Olivia had begun bringing me to games with her occasionally, so I had an idea of how compelling Alex was.

I hadn’t let myself think much about how swoon-worthy he was, but right here, right now with him in my kitchen, it was hard to ignore—soccer star and s*x symbol wrapped up in a body so yummy, he made me want to lick him all over. His presence up close was intense, yet comforting at once. He exuded a quiet power. Just now, I started to laugh again when I realized he was patiently waiting for me to answer. I pointed to the mugs I’d set on the counter, and he shook his head slightly as he stepped past me to drop tea bags in them. He turned and leaned into the corner of the counter, just a foot or so away from me.

I sobered when it occurred to me I must seem half crazy to him. He happened to have been with me at an incredibly inopportune time there in the park. I didn’t want him to think I needed protecting, although I was incredibly relieved he had been there and had guided me out of the park. With Stanley on one side and Alex on the other, I’d numbly made my way home. Alex’s kind gesture of making tea snapped me out of where I’d gone inside. It was so funny to see this big, strong, powerful man offer to make tea.

I caught his eyes and flutters twirled in my belly. I managed to take a breath. I felt strange—hyperaware and restless. The awful truth behind why I’d gotten so scared this morning made me want to prove it had no effect on me anymore. We stared at each other, Alex’s gaze coasting over me. He wasn’t particularly easy to read, but I sensed an answering desire in him. My hands were curled on the edge of the counter, and I realized I was gripping it. I eased my grip and pushed away, my body humming and my mind driven to wipe out everything threatening to take over.

I stepped right in front of Alex, the heat of his body emanating. Getting close to him was like being beside a livewire—energy and power vibrated from him. His breath hissed when I stepped even closer. There was a part of me that thought I was completely out of my mind and perhaps I was. But dammit, I wasn’t going to keep letting my life be ruled by one ugly incident. Alex stood before me and the air around us was taut under the force shimmering between us. I could either let myself stumble backwards, or let this moment envelop me instead.

With my pulse thundering in my ears and heat shooting through me, I slid a hand up Alex’s arm. Oh wow. Just touching his arm was all kinds of amazing. He didn’t move as I stroked over his muscles, savoring the feel of their strength and subtle power. His skin was warm to the touch and sleek. I didn’t stop and coasted up over his t-shirt to curl around his neck. Thought fled, and I moved on instinct. His mouth was delectable with generous lips and a dimple just under his bottom lip. I curled my hand around his neck and pulled him toward me.

He stopped, maybe an inch away from me. “Harper?”

“Hm?”

“What are you doing?”

“Kissing you,” I replied.

His chocolate brown gaze locked with mine, searching. I didn’t know what he saw there, but I could see the beat of his pulse in his neck, and his breath was shallow. Impatient, I yanked him to me. The moment our mouths collided, it was as if I’d been shocked. A hot jolt scored through me. He froze, and then looped his arms around me, pulling me up against him. Oh, this was perfect. Being held against his hard, hot body was heaven. He slid a palm up my back and curled it around my neck. Our kiss went from a stunning point of contact to a deep dive into pure deliciousness. I’d have guessed Alex to be a patient man, which made him an incredible kisser. He didn’t rush and he didn’t go all caveman and stuff his tongue down my throat. Oh no. He was slow and devastating with soft kisses, sweeps of his tongue against mine and nibbles on my bottom lip. All of it leading up to a kiss so melting, I truly would have collapsed had he not been holding me.

He drew back and tucked his head into the curve of my neck. I was relieved because I didn’t know if I could bear to look at him just now. I’d meant to kiss him as some sort of bold move, as much for myself as anyone, to show I couldn’t be cowed by the past. I hadn’t known kissing Alex would be what that was—a heady, encompassing madness that made me feel more alive than I’d ever felt. Eventually he lifted his head and eased his hold. I hadn’t realized my feet had actually been off the ground until he slowly let me slide down his body. I could feel the ridge of his arousal against me, and my body’s answering clench.

When my feet were on the ground again, I took a deep breath and stepped back. His eyes were waiting for me when I looked up. “What was that about?” he asked.

Excellent question, and one that had layers of answers. Right now, I couldn’t quite contemplate anything beyond this immediate moment. “I wanted to kiss you,” I finally said. A perfectly true answer, but it didn’t capture everything I felt, certainly not the way I felt now.