Sensual Games (Novak Springs #3) (5 page)

The days went by in a blur. Emma got deeply engrossed in her work with the team. Each football player welcomed her and followed her instructions. No one wanted to be sidelined with an injury that could have been prevented. Today was a game day. Emma was grateful it was at home. Since she’d started working as the team physical therapist, they’d been on the road for the past four games. A month of traveling had started to take its toll on her. She wanted to curl up in Tori’s guest bedroom and sleep for a couple of days. So far, she’d managed to avoid talking to Wes. Tori had let her know how much it irritated him to keep missing her. Her brother was a little bit unhappy with her, and for once Emma didn’t care. She loved her job. Unfortunately, she’d have to deal with it soon. Thanksgiving was later on in the week, and she had the day off. The team didn’t play that day, but they did the following Sunday. She had no excuse to miss out on the family dinner.

She couldn’t worry about what might happen when they all got together again. For now she wanted to concentrate on the game. Emma had to be alert and ready for anything. Henry depended on her if something happened out on the field to one of the players. She walked down the hallway and into one of the back rooms of the stadium, her employee badge sliding across her stomach with each movement she made.

“Hey, Emma, how’s it going today?”

Emma nodded at the security guard doing his perimeter check. “Good. Any problems?”

“Nope. We’re all clear back here.” He smiled. “How do you think they’ll do?”

“We’ll win, of course,” Emma boasted.

“If you need anything let me know.”

“Will do. I need to find Dr. Ellwood. Have you seen him?”

“Yeah, I saw him walk into the locker room with Paxton Kerry a few moments ago.”

“Thanks,” Emma replied.

She couldn’t help wondering what was going on with the team’s quarterback. Emma was probably worrying for nothing. Still, something about it bothered her. She wouldn’t go into the locker room. It didn’t feel right to her, so she never invaded the players’ space. If they needed her, they knew where to find her. She’d head out to the field and take some supplies with her. Better to be prepared for the game anyway. She went into the supply room and filled a duffle bag with everything she might need on the field. After she zipped it closed she pulled the long strap over her shoulder and closed the door as she exited. Not paying any attention to where she was heading, she walked right into someone outside the room. She could feel herself falling, her arms flailing for something to grab onto. When she didn’t hit the ground, she realized why. She’d squeezed her eyelids shut tight preparing for pain, only to be encased in warmth. Her eyelashes fluttered open, and she found herself looking into Colt’s blue eyes. His arms were wrapped around her waist holding her tight against him.

“I’m so sorry. I should have been watching where I was going,” she apologized.

She gulped back a lump in her throat. He looked so good, and she had to use every ounce of restraint she had in her to not wrap her own arms around him. She wanted to reach up and kiss him. To feel his lips sliding over hers, letting their passion roam free. Emma couldn’t give in to that desire. Colt had moved on. She didn’t blame him for finding someone new, but she couldn’t help wishing he’d waited. If he’d stayed single they might have gotten back together. How was she to know she’d suddenly wake up and want him again? Then a flash of him going after Missy crossed her mind, and she found herself angry all over again. Even if she wanted him, it never would have worked between them. Too many bad memories and not enough generosity within herself to forgive him—Emma needed to find the distance and strength to let him go for good.

“You can let me go now,” she said.

“You have been avoiding me for a while now. We need to talk.”

“No, I think we’ve said all we need to.” Emma shook her head and started to pull herself out of his arms. “Please let me go.”

“Emma, I know you were hurt when you saw Missy—”

Emma held up her hand, stopping him from saying more. “Stop, just stop. Don’t even start to say what was about to pass through your lips. Nothing would make that right.”

“You don’t understand…”

“And I don’t want to.”

Colt’s lips creased into a thin white line. He ran his hands through his long mahogany tresses and pushed them into his scalp. Emma knew he was frustrated. She couldn’t let herself care. If she had almost no room within her to forgive Colt—Missy would burn in hell before she’d give her a free pass for what she’d done. Emma could not, would not, give her any amount of compassion.

“Just once I wish you’d quit being stubborn and listen.” Colt’s arms shot in the air and he shrugged his shoulders. “You win, Emma. I give up. Believe what you want.”

He’s giving up on her? Like he hadn’t already? Who did she think she was kidding? Colt took the first opportunity he found to run away from her and what they had. He wouldn’t change it now.

“Did you care at all?”

“What?” he asked. “Have you lost your mind?” He stalked over to her and glared at her. Colt squeezed his hands together into tight fists. “I—can’t. I can’t do this with you.”

“You’re wrong. I don’t win. I lost. That’s what you don’t get.”

Colt shook his head. “No, we both lost. The difference is I was willing to fight, and you,” he paused, staring her in the eyes, “were not.”

He turned his back to her and started to stomp away. Emma snorted at the sight of him. He’d wanted to talk, well he gave up on that pretty fast. So much for him wanting to fight for her—his actions spoke volumes. He didn’t fight for her. No, Colt had given up on her a long time ago.

“I don’t believe you.”

He stopped, spun around, and stalked back over to her side. “Yeah, well that doesn’t surprise me. But I have to admit I’m curious. What don’t you believe this time?”

Emma snorted. “You want me to check off the whole list?”

“Yeah. I’ll even start it for you.” He held up one finger. “First one is I never cheated on you, especially with Missy Claybourn.”

Emma started to agree with him and then stopped. Her mouth hung open as something important occurred to her. Claybourn? How was it she never knew Missy’s last name before? Yeah, they were not in the same social circles, but it seems like she should know that.

“Speechless? This is a first.”

“Claybourn?” Emma asked.

Colt rolled his eyes. “Of all the things we’ve said that is what you are latching on to?”

“Yes. I don’t recall her last name being said in the news.”

“That’s because we requested her last name not be mentioned. She was pregnant. We wanted to protect her.”

Emma tilted her head. “Awfully nice of you. Protecting someone who was out to ruin your life.”

Yeah, this was the Colt she knew. He cared about people. How could she have forgotten that about him? In the whole debacle that destroyed their relationship, it was nice to see something stayed the same.

“I didn’t do it for her. That baby was innocent. It didn’t need to be harmed in some media frenzy.”

“I suppose that makes sense.” Emma nodded her head. “Can I ask you something?”

“Never stopped you before.” Colt snorted. “What do you want to know? If I’m being honest, it’s nice to see you finally curious.”

“Does Missy have a sister?”

Colt jolted back, surprise filling his eyes. “Why?”

“I’m curious, like you said.”

“No, you don’t ask random questions like that without a reason.”

Emma sighed. “Can you answer the question?”

“Yeah, she does.” He studied her. “An older sister, Melody I think her name is.”

Anger filled her gut. She knew it. Dallas’s ex-fiancée was related to the woman who’d destroyed her relationship with Colt. She wanted to believe it was a coincidence, but she couldn’t. She had to wonder if Tori or Ginnifer knew about this bit of information and kept it from her. She’d be having a talk with Tori when she got home later that evening. Emma needed answers, and depending on what they were she’d develop a plan of attack.

“Emma why does this information matter? I can practically see your mind racing.”

She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. Go get ready for the game.”

“No, tell me.”

“No, not until I understand what it means.”

Colt crossed his arms across his chest. “Tell me.”

Damn he could be stubborn. Did she give in to his demands or stall? Stall. She still didn’t fully trust him. She had no idea what he’d do with the information.

“You can stand there and glare at me all day. I’m not going to start talking because you ordered me too.”

“I can certainly try.”

Emma laughed. “Give it your best shot.”

She thought he’d throw some ultimatums at her or order her to start talking again. What he did instead shocked her senseless. He pulled her into his arms and slid his lips across hers. He pushed, prodded, and coaxed her lips open. When his tongue slid across hers she sighed. This is what she’d been longing for—what she’d been craving. Emma dropped the duffle bag—it hit the floor with a loud thud. She wrapped her arms around his neck and wound her fingers through his hair. The silky strands slid through her fingers as she gave them a hard tug. Colt’s hands drifted down to her ass, and he squeezed her tighter against him. The kiss seemed to go on forever, and Emma didn’t want it to end. But she couldn’t let it go on. This was not a healthy thing to do. Kissing your ex-boyfriend—knowing he was dating someone else—was wrong.

She yanked her lips free from his and took a step back. Emma wiped her hand across her mouth. “And you expect me to believe you never cheated on me.” She stared at him with disappointment.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

How had she forgotten? One moment of weakness and she’d given in. She couldn’t let him get close again. If he kissed her like that—she’d be his slave. Emma could only hold him off so long before she’d give herself to him fully. She teetered on the edge being in his presence. She had to adapt—protect her bruised heart. He’d done a fine job of distracting her, but he still hadn’t gotten the answers he sought. So maybe, as painful as this was, his kissing her had been a good thing. It put her back on track. At least she could be grateful that he was no longer interrogating her. She couldn’t make any false accusations. It could be one huge misunderstanding. Emma, of course, didn’t believe it for a minute. For now, she’d remind Colt he was supposed to be taken. Men did not kiss their ex-girlfriends when they had a current one. At least they weren’t supposed too…

“How soon we forget,” she said, disgusted. “Alison.”

“Oh, God, Emma you need to understand something—” Colt stretched his arm out trying to pull her back into his arms.

Emma took a step back, swinging her arm out of his reach. “No I understand perfectly.”

She picked up the duffle bag and pushed past him. She began walking down the long hallway toward the field. She could hear him cussing a wide arrangement of profanities behind her. Yeah, no doubt about it, now Colt was completely pissed off. Nothing she could do about it. Until she had all of the information, she was not going to share her theories with him. They could…change everything. Emma wasn’t sure if she wanted them to or not.

Colt ran his fingers through his hair as frustration set in. He’d handled the situation with Emma badly—no surprise there. Lately, all he did was make the wrong decisions where she was concerned. As much as he would like to go after her, Colt knew he couldn’t. He had to go suit up for the game and be ready for the pregame meeting in the locker room. If he didn’t hurry, he’d be late, and coach would let him have it. He raced to the locker room and found Dr. Ellwood talking to Paxton Kerry. The current quarterback was shaking his head at the team doctor. Something was up—Colt should go over and find out. There was always a possibility it could have some impact on the game and his play time.

“What’s going on?” he asked them both.

“Nothing to worry about, Lewis.” Paxton’s smile had an edge, not quite genuine and yet not false either. “We were discussing the game.”

“Paxton—” Dr. Ellwood placed his hand on his arm.

Paxton jerked it away. “I’m fine, Dr. Ellwood.”

Paxton ran his hands through his hair. Colt could see worry filling his emerald-green eyes. Something was definitely not right, but Paxton didn’t want to talk about it. So he decided not to push it. He understood that sometimes a person didn’t want to open up and discuss a festering internal wound. If and when Paxton wanted to discuss what was going on with him, Colt would listen.

Dr. Ellwood shook his head. “Fine, I’m not going to argue with you. You’re going to do what you want no matter what I have to say.”

“Damn straight.”

Dr. Ellwood frowned at him. Colt got a good look into his eyes, and he saw the same worry flashing back at him as he’d seen in Paxton’s. Maybe he should ask questions.

“Is there something I should know?”

“No, everything is great,” Paxton said.

Colt decided he wouldn’t push. He’d already done more than he was comfortable with. Dr. Ellwood shook his head again and walked away. Whatever they were discussing bothered him, but he wasn’t getting the results he wanted. If Paxton didn’t want to listen to the doctor, he wasn’t about to hear anything Colt had to say.

“So you ready to win today?” he asked.

“Hell yeah.” Paxton grinned. “I’m ready to roll.”

Paxton held up his hand high, and Colt reached up and high-fived him. Colt wasn’t sure what was going on inside the quarterback’s mind. He knew one thing though—Paxton was doing everything he could to put on a good show. The man generally didn’t act this pumped up before a game. He walked away from Colt and began to jiggle and dance in place in front of his locker. It was…weird. Colt didn’t have any other word he could have used to describe it. First his odd behavior with Alison and now this…

Colt put it out of his mind when he got to his own locker. He needed to change into his own gear and prepare for the game. He never knew for sure when coach would decide to put him in. He was only the second string and generally didn’t get a lot of play time. Paxton carried the major load and pressure to win. Someday Colt would have it, but for now he was being groomed to take over one day.

He pulled off his shirt and tossed it in his locker. He stripped down to his boxers and began to pull out his equipment. One by one he put each piece on until he was in his full uniform. Once he was dressed, he went to the meeting area and took a seat. Coach would be in soon to begin the pregame meeting. He hoped it would go by fast.

“Okay everyone gather in,” Coach called as he walked into the room. “Hurry up we have a few things to go over.” He clapped his hands a couple of times to get everyone’s attention.

The players all came in and took a seat. They gave coach their full attention.

“Now I’m not going to give you any pretty speeches. You all know what you need to do today. The Broncos are not going to hand us a win.”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

“Now everyone go onto the field and be prepared to win.”

Colt didn’t need to be told twice. Usually coach had a lot more to say. He wondered why he didn’t give one of his long-winded speeches and go into more detail about the game plan. The way his mind worked always fascinated Colt. Surely he had a reason for the light talk and go win attitude. He looked over his shoulder and saw coach pull Paxton aside. Maybe he needed some one on one time with his star player.

When he entered the stadium, the first thing he saw was Emma. She was standing on the sideline with her arms across her chest, her cinnamon hair blowing in the wind and whipping across her cheeks. She really should have pulled it up into her usual ponytail.

He jogged over to her side. “See anything interesting?”

She scowled up at him. “Don’t you have something better to do?”

“Nope. Not at the moment.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Go play with your friends, Colt.”

“I want to talk to you.”

She turned to look at him, her blue eyes flashing ice. “Could you please, for once, respect my wishes and leave me alone.”

Damn her. How did she turn it all off as if they never loved each other at all? He knew better. The way she kissed him earlier told a different story than the ice queen standing next to him.

“Seems I’ve been doing just that,” he sneered. “I thought we agreed to be friends?”

“It was foolish of us to believe we could ever be anything to each other again. Friends was only wishful thinking on my part.”

Colt bet it was. No doubt, Emma believed she could push him back into the corner she’d put him in. Well, he wasn’t going to stand back and watch from the sidelines where she was concerned. He loved her, and he’d fight for her. Soon she’d realize that they were meant to be together and would stop fighting the inevitable. If only he could find the proof she needed to believe in him again. Part of him wished she didn’t need any. If Emma truly loved him, she should believe in him. Colt knew there wasn’t a chance in hell she’d ever willingly come to him and say she’d made a mistake. No, his Emma was way too bullheaded to ever admit she’d done him wrong.

“Well, that’s too bad. I’m holding you to it.” Colt grinned down at her baffled expression. “You’re right about one thing though. I need to concentrate on the game today. So we’ll have this discussion later.”

He left her standing still, her arms floating at her sides, and her mouth hanging open as she watched him, stunned. Colt chuckled at how hilarious she looked. He needed to start listening to Alison. She’d been right on a lot of things. Emma had never gotten over him, and she sure as hell didn’t like Ian as much as she claimed to. You don’t kiss another man like she’d kissed him if you were serious about another guy.

He chatted with some of the other guys on the team. It didn’t take long for the stadium to fill up with screaming fans. They had possession of the ball first. He watched as Paxton walked out to the field, attaching his helmet as he approached the formation. It all seemed to go in slow motion and fast at the same time.

First the snap…

Paxton had the ball—he was backing up looking for a receiver. The Broncos were doing a good job of screening him. Colt kept his eyes riveted to the play on the field. He saw it all go on before him. Paxton’s arm was high in the air, and as he started to throw the football one of the Bronco defensemen stormed forward and sacked him. He hit the ground with a hard thud. The football was still in his hand and rolled away as his back hit the ground. Paxton didn’t move as the opposite team was cheering around him. Panic seized Colt’s heart.
Get up, Paxton, you need to just move.

Emma and Dr. Ellwood rushed out to the field. They were both examining him. After several minutes of dead silence, he could hear roaring in his own ears. Something was really wrong with Paxton. That sack had caused some kind of injury. He knew what it meant. He’d have to go in and take over. It scared him as much as it excited him. He’d never had this much responsibility before. He hadn’t wanted it like this—damn it, Paxton. Why did he have to go and get hurt?

They brought out a gurney and wheeled him off the field. The team of paramedics pushed Paxton toward the locker room. Colt froze as panic seized his whole body. He shook his head forcing himself to snap out of it.

“Lewis, I need you on the field,” Coach called to him.

He couldn’t let it worry him. His team was counting on him to focus. Colt could check in on Paxton later. Maybe it wasn’t anything major and he wouldn’t be out of the game for long. Colt wanted his shot as the number one quarterback. He’d never expected to get it like this. He took a deep breath and ran out onto the field.

“Okay, are you all ready?”

They each nodded their head and got into formation. The first play of the game didn’t go as planned, but Colt intended to see the rest of the game come out in the positive for the team.

He kept his head on the game. The snap went off, and the ball flew to his hands. Colt had a momentary flash of Paxton hitting the ground. No, he couldn’t think about what happened. He scanned the field and located a receiver. Colt lifted his arm and let the ball fly high. It was beautiful to watch it whiz through the air straight and true. The receiver caught it and began to run. He dodged left to avoid being tackled and then took off. He ran straight through over sixty yards to a touchdown.

Colt formed a fist and did a victory swing of his arm. “Yes!”

So far so good. Now he’d need to keep that up for the rest of the game.

Each quarter flew by, and Colt played the best game of his life. His passing game was on par with a nice completion percentage. They fought hard for their win. The Broncos didn’t want to give it up. They finished the game with a one-point lead.

Sweat dripped down his face, and he was exhausted. Nothing would ever compare to the feeling flowing through his veins. Winning was amazing. Being part of the team that made it happen was beyond exciting.

“You did good out there.”

He turned to see Emma standing behind him. “You think so?”

No matter what or where he was, Emma’s opinion would matter to him.

“Yeah, you did.” She smiled.

“How’s Paxton?”

He’d promised himself he would ask about him after the game. Now Colt’s stomach clenched as he waited to hear what happened to him.

“It’s not good. He tore his rotator cuff. Dr. Ellwood thinks he’s going to need surgery.”

Oh God. For a quarterback that could be a death sentence. He might not be able to throw a football ever again. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, apparently Dr. Ellwood had tried to talk him out of playing today. He had a sore shoulder. I wish one of them had come to me sooner. This may have been preventable.”

“Will he play again?” He had to ask.

“It’s too soon to tell. I won’t know his chances until he has surgery and we start therapy.”

“I don’t have any words—”Colt was baffled. It was beginning to look like he’d be starting for the next several games. Possibly the entire season…his mind was blown.

“Just take care of yourself. It looks like you’re number one for now.” Emma patted him on the shoulder. “Wouldn’t want to have to fall back on the third-string quarterback now would we?” She walked off with those words.

Emma had given him a lot to think about. As soon as he calmed down enough to process the news, he’d go have a conversation with coach. They needed to start going over all the plays in fine detail. Yeah, Colt knew them, but he didn’t live and breathe them the way Paxton had. He’d have to step up his game if he was going to fill his shoes.