For Keeps Read online

  * * *

  No sooner were they through the door when Tyler flipped the lock in place, pushing Valerie against the wall and kissing her fiercely, his hands roaming wildly over every part of her body. He pawed at her clothes, and she frantically peeled them off. As he kissed and nibbled at her neck, she asked breathlessly, “Tell me what you want.”

  Gritting his teeth against her neck, his hot breath washing against her soft skin, Tyler whispered his desires, his voice a low growl that was filled with passion.

  “You.”

  Having her naked in his arms drove him wild, and he could think of nothing more than feeling his cock pushing inside of her, uniting them once more, as he felt her walls wrapped tightly about his shaft. Carefully, he used his knees to spread her legs wide, and she gasped knowing that he was beyond the point of no return. He would have her entirely.

  Without words he nibbled her neck and shoulder bone, working his way down to her hardened pink nipples, his hands gripping her middle back before dropping lower to her waist. Soon he was down on his knees, his mouth only inches away from her softness, desperate to taste her.

  Slowly, achingly slowly – he moved, his hot wet tongue inching closer to her clit in broad, fluttered strokes. He pushed her thighs apart, giving him full reign of her bubblegum pink clit, as he licked warm wet circles around it, suckling it carefully – quietly, before sliding two fingers deep inside of her.

  “oh…OH!” Valerie screamed, her voice filled with aching need. She threw her head back, pressing her body firmly against the wall as the first orgasm rumbled through her body, making ever square inch of her burn and tingle.

  It wasn’t enough for her. Valerie wanted to take from him, but she wanted to do it her way, and though she held on, her hands fisted in his hair, through another explosion, she finally used her grip on him to pull his head back from between her thighs. When she looked down and caught his hooded gaze, she moaned and told him in a hoarse voice,

  “My turn.”

  Tyler loved when Valerie took the initiative and rode him. She was like a wild animal, bucking and crying as she took her own pleasure from him. But she surprised him now. Rather than throwing her legs over him and settling herself so she could draw his thick shaft deep inside her, she lowered herself to the ground and took the head of his cock in her mouth.

  Hissing in pure bliss, Tyler could barely keep his eyes open to watch her as she licked from his base all the way to the tip and back, over and over again, before her lips closed around the thick wet head of his cock and sucked it in. He could have came in her mouth immediately, but he wanted more, and he could tell she wasn’t ready to stop. He lightly palmed the back of her head as she bobbed up and down, taking him as deep as she could toward her throat, over and over again.

  The sensation in Valerie’s mouth drove her crazy. The softness of the skin on the head of his perfect cock directly contrasted the hard thrust and size of the shaft, and she wanted to touch herself, feel her own wetness as she reveled in the taste of him. But this was all about his pleasure, and she wanted to focus only on him right now.

  She cupped his balls carefully in her fingertips as she continued licking his shaft, but her arms were suddenly pulled away without warning and in seconds Tyler’s hands were wrapped tightly around her waist, lifting her and placing her on top of him, and he entered her in one smooth, satisfying thrust that had them both struggling to catch their breath. The tightness, the deep connection and pure desire between a wanton woman and a passionate, loving man nearly drove them to the edge of glory.

  Slowly, Valerie started to move up and down on his cock, the slight friction building as she reveled in the heat from his core mixing with the thickness of his shaft that filled her up and stretched her walls until they convulsed over and over, one orgasm blooming as another faded so she couldn’t tell where they began and ended.

  Tyler couldn’t take much more as he felt Valerie coming over and over again, her body trembling, her inner walls pressing hard around him and threatening to choke him if he didn’t come. He squeezed her breasts, teased her nipples, trying to distract himself, but her cries only grew louder as her pleasure intensified. Finally, he grabbed her hips and held her tight as he drove one last, deep stroke into her before exploding deep inside of her pussy. His hips bucked wildly at the release, it was so intense, and Valerie panted and screamed as her convulsions came quicker and harder around him.

  Finally, she collapsed on top of him, and as he ran his fingertips gently down her spine, he could feel the aftershocks going through her, still wringing every last bit of pleasure out of the both of them. When she sat back up, her hair was sweaty and tangled in her face, and her lids were hooded with afterglow, but her smile was sensual, enticing.

  “That, my love, was the most incredible experience I think I’ve ever had.”

  “I could say the same to you,” he told her, his words slurred with complete rapture.

  He gently rolled her to the side, and drew her against him, their bodies and skin flush to each other. He held her, his mouth so close to hers that a deep breath would have had their lips touching. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, and I would do anything to make you happy.”

  With a soft, tender smile, she told him, “I just want you to love me. That’s what will make me happy.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “That’s easy, then. There should be no happier woman in the world, as much love as I have for you.”

  * * *

  Tyler hadn’t been joking about the brutal hockey schedule, and it was starting to weigh on Valerie. She didn’t sleep well when he wasn’t home, and she’d been busy at work, so this was the first time in over a month since he’d been recruited that she’d been able to travel with him. She sat in the stands, watching the game and cheering with the crowd, loving the fact that Tyler’s team was shutting out their opponents, 4-0.

  But she was also tired and hungry. She’d come straight from the airport, not wanting to miss any of the game. She loved watching him play, and knew that it was truly what he was meant to do.

  Not to mention the rigorous daily workout did beautiful things to his already hard body.

  Another shot, with Tyler’s assist, and another score. She stood, hands in the air, cheering again, but stopped mid-cry as the crowd booed and she felt like the ground dropped out from under her. One of the players from the opposing team rammed Tyler from the side after the completion of the play, his stick angled at Tyler’s knee, and she watched in horror as the knee bent at an odd angle and Tyler went tumbling to the ground.

  She waited for a moment, covering her mouth with her hands and praying he wasn’t badly injured, but when the trainer headed onto the ice, she started shoving her way through the people blocking her way and ran up and around, finding the private entrance to the locker rooms blocked by security.

  Tyler had told her the guards would have a list of people they could let through, and she stuttered. “Valerie... I’m with Tyler Princeton.”

  The guard radioed something to someone inside, but Valerie’s ears were buzzing, and she was too worried to pay attention. Finally, he nodded and told her, “Follow me.”

  She rushed after the long-legged guard. Under other circumstances, she would have grumbled about not being able to keep up, but now, he couldn’t possibly move fast enough to get her where she wanted to be. She didn’t even know if whatever medical personnel would allow her to be in the room with Tyler, but she was damn well going to find out. And she would at least be waiting right outside.

  The coach smiled at her when Valerie reached the outside of the locker room, but the crinkles at the corners of his eyes were missing…he wasn’t happy at all. “Hey, Valerie, he’s okay. He’s in a little pain, but the medic’s working on that first so we can figure out what kind of damage we’re looking at.”

  The coach put a hand on her shoulder, and Valerie was glad she’d made the effort to get to know him and some of Tyler’s teammates. She was
a little relieved to be talking to someone who at least had a familiar face and knew Tyler. “When can I see him?”

  “I’ll get you in as soon as I can, okay? I have to get back out to the ice. We’ve still got two periods to play, and I have to be out there. But I’ll leave word with the trainer to come get you as soon as he can convince the doc to clear it.”

  The wait was long and gut wrenching, but finally, the door opened, and the trainer motioned her in. Tyler lay across the medical bench, his face pale and his eyes closed, though his muscles were still tense and she could read the pain on him. “Tyler?”

  He reached out a hand, wanting nothing more than to touch Valerie. The instant he felt her hand in his, some of the pain regressed, and the tension in his body relaxed ever so slightly. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and smiled at her. “Hey, love.” He winced as a pain shot through his knee, but recovered quickly, not wanting to dwell on how badly he hurt, even after the pain meds. “How bad did it look from where you were sitting? Was I at least graceful when I fell?”

  She let out a small chuckle. “Not really. It looked like you’d been shot.” She cleared her throat, and Tyler saw the worry in her eyes that he’d been hoping to avoid. “How bad is it, Tyler? Did you tear something? Break something?”

  He shrugged. “If I’m lucky, then I just pulled the ACL. We’ll have to get an MRI to see if it’s torn.” He saw the alarm as her eyes grew wide, and he reached up to caress her cheek. Valerie may not know a lot about sports, but she understood that terminology at least. “Look, whatever it is, we’ll deal with it, right? If it’s pulled, I’m out for about three weeks. If it’s torn…I have surgery and see where it goes from here.”

  Valerie didn’t know what to say. If, in fact, he had to have surgery on his ACL, that would be the end of a career that had just started for him, one that he’d dreamed of all his life. And that could be completely devastating. “So, do I get to take you out of here and get you in for your scan?”

  He nodded. “I just want to stick it out in here through the game, say goodnight to the guys when they come in, and then we’ll go. I want you to stay with me.” Really, he feared this would be the last time he’d be in a locker room, with other players chasing the dream like him. He also realized that this particular injury on his right knee could very well affect his driving and make racing more difficult. But he would handle it like a man, stay together, and not act like a child who’d lost everything.

  He still had Valerie, and that was what really mattered.

  His cell phone rang, and he frowned. Tyler couldn’t remember having grabbed it, but apparently he’d asked for it when they brought him in, most likely to call Valerie if she wasn’t already there. Looking at the caller ID, he nearly choked. “Great. What the hell is my father doing calling me at all, much less right now?”

  Valerie raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to answer it?”

  He scowled and almost said no, but for some reason, he felt the compulsion to torture himself, kick his ego while he was already down. He pressed the ‘talk’ button and raised the receiver to his ear. “Hello?”

  “If you think I haven’t followed you over these last months, you’re wrong. I know what happened out there today, Tyler, and I hope you finally realize how irresponsible it was to even think about chasing your so-called dream. Are you done with it now? Now that your body says no?”

  Anger exploded in Tyler’s chest, whether because his father had been keeping an eye on him and waiting for him to fail, or because the man had called to rub it in before anyone even knew the extent of the damage, he wasn’t sure. “I don’t expect much from you, old man, but this is an all time low. I’m lying here not even sure what is going on and this is all you care about? Being right? Making sure that I finally give up? Give into what you want for me?”

  He leaned back, closing his eyes and trying to gain control of his emotions. “Look, Dad, this is over. This whole relationship where you think you can still tell me how to live my life. I’m a grown man now, and no longer under your thumb. Live your life and I’ll live mine.”

  There was silence at the other end of the line except for heavy breathing. He’d really pissed the old man off. Finally, his father told him, “If you drop this insanity, I will still hold to the terms of our agreement. You come back to the firm, take the bar exam and pass, and you get your trust fund. One condition will change. You don’t have to get married. I should have known better than to push that, especially when it drove you into the arms of someone like that girl you are with.”

  Seething, Tyler shook his head. “She’s better than you’ll ever be, Dad. She’s better than the both of us.” He hung up and tossed the phone across the locker room with a cry of rage.

  * * *

  Valerie stood outside the hospital room as the doctor broke the news, having already heard it herself and wanting to give Tyler time to absorb it before she joined him. There was no screaming, no denial that she heard, and when the doctor came out he nodded to her and motioned for her to go inside. “He’s asking for you.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.” She moved through the door, shutting it behind her, and tentatively peeked around the corner to where Tyler lay in the hospital bed, his leg in a brace from mid-thigh down. She smiled at him. “Well?”

  His expression was dark, but she knew it didn’t reflect on her. “I’m sure you heard it destroyed my ACL. Even with surgery and physical therapy, my hockey days are over.” He shook his head and reached out to her. She hurried toward his side and took it, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb.

  Taking a deep breath, she told him, “Listen, Tyler, I’ve been thinking…” This time, his scowl was aimed at her, and Valerie assumed he could sense she was going to say something he wouldn’t like. “Just give me a minute and hear me out.” She braced herself and let the words spill. “I think you should take your father up on his offer. You’ll get the best medical care, the best of everything. And lots of opportunity for the future.”

  Tyler was visibly aggravated. Maybe what had really happened on the rink was a body check that had slammed his head around and knocked him unconscious. “What are you talking about, Valerie? Are you telling me you don’t want to be with me anymore, now that I’m useless?”

  “No!” Dammit, he was taking this all the wrong way. “I’m saying that you have better options open to you than what I can give you. And for your happiness, I think you should consider taking those options.” It broke her heart to tell him that. The last thing she wanted was to lose him. But honestly, she knew it would be best for him, and in the end, no matter how much she hurt, she just wanted him to be okay. She’d go on, as she always had, alone.

  Rage burst in Tyler’s chest. He’d been feeling sorry for himself for a split second, but now it was pure anger that took over his thoughts.

  “Valerie. I told you before, I’d rather be with you and give up everything else than lose you at any price. Why can’t you accept that?”

  Valerie swallowed, trying not to cry. “Tyler, it’s all fine and good to have good intentions and be idealistic, but that’s not how life is. It’s time to look at reality and know that you’ll never get anywhere if you stay with me. I love you, so much that it’s killing me to say this to you, but I also love you enough to let you go so you can be happy.”

  Tyler tightened his grip on Valerie’s hand, just in case she tried to walk away. He wouldn’t have it, not today, not ever.

  “If you leave me now, I will never forgive you.” He reached up with his other hand and cupped her cheek, and she instinctively leaned into his touch. “I’m crazy in love with you, Valerie, and I’m determined to stay with you. I won’t take what my dad offers because he doesn’t accept you. And the only reason I didn’t ask you to marry me months ago is because I was afraid you’d still think I was using you to get the trust fund. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, even if we live in a hovel with old beaters for cars.”

  While she apprec
iated all his words, Valerie focused on one thing. “You want to marry me?” Her voice came out smaller and meeker than she’d intended, and it made her blush.

  With a deep, warm chuckle, Tyler kissed the back of her hand. “Yes, Valerie, I would be honored if you would be my wife.” He frowned. “I just wish I had the ring on me.”

  She gaped at him. “You have a ring?”

  “I’ve had one for quite a while. So, are you going to give me an answer?” he teased.

  Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Valerie nodded, wishing she could stop the tears that were about to run down her face.

  “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t you get it yet? I’m in love with you, Valerie. And that’s all that matters.” He pulled her closer so he could reach her face and kiss her solidly. “Trust me, you are the perfect woman for me.”

  * * *

  The next few weeks proved difficult, with Tyler completely out of commission, having surgery and going into his first physical therapy sessions. Valerie was exhausted, going to work and running him back and forth to the therapist’s office as well as checkups and still trying to maintain the house. She couldn’t even begin to think about a wedding or getting married, though she absolutely adored the ring. And it was making it hard on her to appreciate her relationship. There had been no sex for a few weeks while they worked on Tyler’s recovery. One night she found him waiting for her in the dimly lit foyer when she arrived home from work, a devilish grin planted on his face.

  His touch went a long way, and Valerie couldn’t even think about how long it had been since they’d been this intimate. Their relationship, like any that are worth keeping, was going to take some work, but she certainly didn’t want to lose what they’d built together before Tyler had been injured. It was too good to let it slip away.