BreakMeIn (25 page)

Alex swung his club, feeling the vibration of the contact
radiate up his arms as the ball sailed through the air. The crowd surrounding
the tee box at the sixteenth hole gave a loud roar when he bent to retrieve his
tee.

Adrenaline ran high in his blood, his hands shaking slightly
as his fingers closed around the small wooden piece. He backed away from his
spot, allowing his partner for the round to have his turn. His caddy Romeo held
out his hand for the club.

Damn, still not used to that.

“Nice hit, boss.”

“Thanks.” In his mind he started listing all the things he’d
done wrong or could have improved upon by making a slight adjustment or two.
Since he’d started on this journey nothing he did satisfied him. He always felt
as though he was one step behind trying to keep up with guys who’d been at this
game far longer than he had. “Hopefully it’ll be enough.”

“It’ll be fine.”

Romeo hefted his bag of clubs over his shoulder and started
the long trek down the fairway. The short, balding man was always optimistic.
Usually whenever Alex doubted the most. They were a good compliment for each
other, but considering the fact he was still a little stunned he’d qualified
for this event, those doubts were quite often.

The US Open.

On the leader board at the US Open, no less.

Never in a million years would he have ever dreamed he would
be right at this very spot. But thanks to the left turn he’d made six months
ago he’d taken even more control of his life, called Jackson Truman and a few
months later entered a local tournament. He still thought it was a fluke he’d
finished second, but the placement had qualified him for a regional event later
the same month.

He’d won thanks to a little bit of work and healthy serving
of determination.

And here he was, on a beautiful Sunday in June, walking the
links at Falken with the very same men he idolized. Hell, he was playing this
round with Ty Webb, the leader in the championship points. They were the last
group of the day because they had the best three-day score coming into today’s
round.

He was pretty certain the day couldn’t get much better.

After locating his ball he waited while Ty lined up his shot
a few feet ahead. The ball sailed into the air, landing neatly on the green
about ten feet from the pin. Damn. Considering the fact putting wasn’t his
strongest attribute he was going to have to land closer to the flag if he was
going to have a shot at this.

He cleared his mind as he settled in, pulling in a slow
breath as he pushed away the nerves that kept threatening to rise to the
surface. The ball sailed past the pin about twenty feet.

He really was going to have to work for it now.

“Still think it’ll be fine?” Romeo nodded as he handed him
his putter. “Glad one of us had the confidence. Maybe you should be playing
instead of me.”

“Your show, boss. I’m just along for the exercise.”

“Right.” He wiggled his fingers into his fitted glove as
they walked to the tee of the seventeenth hole. He and Ty both managed to make
par and they walked together to the final hole of the match tied for first
place.

“No matter how this turns out, you’ve played one hell of a
game, Conners.” He offered his hand, shaking with a strong grip. “I look
forward to partnering with you again on tour.”

“Thanks.”

Ty set up, lofting the ball high and far down the fairway.
Alex knew he was going to have a tough time matching such a beautiful shot. But
the fact he was going to try was the reason he’d made it as far as he had.

They both landed on the green in two, rallying for birdies.
Ty’s ball was fifteen feet away while Alex’s was only ten. A break for Alex
given his troubles putting. If they kept things tied they would have to play
the hole again. Such a playoff wasn’t unheard of at this high level, but it
would be a first for Alex.

A fact Ty was probably counting on.

Newbie nerves.

Alex hit first. Despite the straight path to the hole, the
ball rimmed the lip, rolling a few inches past. His chances of placing first
vanished. He tapped in, finally breathing for the first time since he’d started
the round this morning.

The audience cheered their approval of his finishing score.
He tossed the ball into the crowd, laughing as a couple of teenagers fought over
it as though he’d just hit the game-winning home run into the stands. In some
way he had. He’d just proved he could overcome doubts, fears and even failures
to achieve his dreams. Maybe not to anyone else, but at least to himself.

Second place actually felt damn good.

His heart thundered in his ears as he returned the putter to
Romeo. All he could do now was stand here and hold his breath with the rest of
the audience. The fans went to their feet as soon as Ty tapped his putter
against the ball.

They yelled as one as the ball sailed neatly into the cup.

Several hours later, as he stepped out of the media tent,
the sun was just meeting the horizon. Most of the crowd had dispersed and the
grounds crew had already started to dismantle the bleachers.

Life went on.

“If you’d been practicing like I showed you, you could have
forced a tie and had another shot at the title.”

The sinful cadence of the feminine voice slid through his
body. Even though every part of his body ached from the four rounds of golf
he’d played in as many days, heat flared to life at the base of his spine.

Looking up, he found those deep-green eyes he’d spent most
of his life adoring. And the past months trying to forget. Elena smiled,
tilting her head. Her hair was a little longer, so the tips danced around her
shoulders when she moved. But it was still a brilliant shade of red,
highlighted gold because of the setting sun.

The scars from the blast at Sanctuary were visible under the
collar of her sea-foam-green polo shirt. He even caught the glimpse of a few
tracking down her thigh from under the hem of her shorts.

Even scarred, Elena was stunning.

And with the way his dick was already coming to attention it
had noticed too.

“So I see that look isn’t relegated to when I’m wearing a
corset. Or dolled up in a catsuit.”

Alex cleared his throat, swallowing emotion. “Never was.”

“No. It wasn’t, was it? I was just too caught up to notice.
Or feeling as though I shouldn’t notice.” She cleared her throat this time,
leaning forward to kiss him lightly on the cheek. “Congratulations.”

“I lost.”

“I know. But the key point is you—an amateur—lost the US
freaking
Open. To a pro at the top of his game right now, no less. He didn’t come by
that win easily and you know it as well as I do. Damn impressive. Shows you’ve
got some talent. Maybe you didn’t win the game today, but you made quite an
impression on a lot of people. They couldn’t stop talking about you where I was
standing.”

A sudden thrill shot through him at the thought Elena had
been here for the round. He could ask why she hadn’t come to see him before
he’d teed off, but considering the way his body was reacting to her presence it
was a good thing she hadn’t. He would have never been able to concentrate.

“Surprised to see you.”

“And miss all this? A local boy hitting it big? Not in a
million years. Everyone else would have been here—”

“You don’t have to make excuses for them.”

“I wasn’t. I was just going to say your sister-in-law went
into labor about an hour before you started your round.”

Panic streaked through his stomach. “Why didn’t someone call
me?”

“They tried.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets. Empty. “Shit. My phone
is back at the hotel. I didn’t even wear my watch today, but that was what—five
hours ago? Everyone okay?”

“Yes. You’re officially an uncle.” She held out her phone.
“Patrick sent this about thirty minutes ago. He said he sent them to you as
well and wished you the best with your round. He’s been glued to the game
footage since you made the cut yesterday. Kept watching the highlights on
SportsCenter over and over. Said he wasn’t going to miss today for any reason
but Ms. Riley here had something else in mind.”

Riley Conners.

A tight fist of emotion clenched his heart.

A tiny pink bundle lay cradled in his brother’s arms, her
petite fingers wrapped around his thumb. Her eyes were open, her brown gaze
directly at the camera as if daring the world to tell her she shouldn’t be so
alert and awake.

“I know you’re probably exhausted, but I was going to head
back to the Waffle House I saw a few miles away. Hungry?”

“Famished.” His stomach growled as he returned her phone.
“Just snagged a few snacks my caddy handed me during the round. Skipped
breakfast because of nerves.” As they climbed into her car he asked something
that had gnawed on him for years. “What is it with you and that place anyway?”

“Nothing.”

“Fair enough. You don’t owe me anything.” Nothing had
changed.

“Sorry. Old habit. One I’m working very hard on modifying.”
Elena’s hand paused at the ignition. “When I was a little girl my parents used
to take me to breakfast on Sunday mornings. They made this big deal out of the
experience because we didn’t have enough money to go to the fancier places.
They always made each trip there special. For a while I would spend the entire
week thinking about what I was going to order.”

“They stopped didn’t they? Taking you, I mean.”

She fired the ignition, pulling out onto the highway. “They
stopped caring for me altogether when I was nine. I came to live with my
grandparents in Gatlin Falls then. Not to say I think my parents didn’t love
me, they just got too caught up with their own problems to try to deal with a
kid.”

“Have you seen them since they left?”

“No. I tried when I was in college, but it was pretty clear
they didn’t want anything to do with me. Not sure why we’re talking about me.
You just had a pretty successful day.”

“I just spent two hours talking about myself to the media.
Have to say I’m a little over myself right now. Besides, I like talking about
you. You look well.”

“Thanks.” She guided the car to a shoulder turn lane,
slipping onto an access road. He could see the yellow-and-black sign for the
restaurant glowing in the distance. “It’s been a long road, but the doctors are
happy with my progress. Just a few more skin grafts and I’ll be as good as new.
It wasn’t your fault, by the way. I needed you to know that before we say
anything more. Before things take some awkward turn we don’t know how to deal
with or something. I don’t blame you for what happened. Not in the least. I didn’t
then and I doubt I ever will.”

“I more than make up for your lack of blame then.” He dealt
with the chaos of that night almost daily. The confusion of the whole year
really. Of how he thought he should have gone about things differently in
regards to what he truly wanted.

“I didn’t say I was blameless. I think I shoulder some of
the responsibility as well.”

“For what?”

“Making you think I didn’t care about you.”

“What else were you supposed to do?”

“Tell you that what we had was more than just sex. More than
just what happened in that room. Tell you that I loved you.” The car idled
quietly in the empty parking lot.

“I never asked you for love, Elena. I only asked for
clarity. Which is exactly what you gave me. You managed to change my
perspective in one night. Here this woman was hitting me and I was getting off
on it. It was confusing because it felt…good. Damn good.”

I miss it.

I miss you.

He hadn’t realized how much he missed her and everything
she’d given him until he’d found her waiting at the golf course. But given her
cool exterior he knew missing her was futile. “We were both responsible adults
indulging in some good old-fashioned sex. No harm. No foul.”

She palmed her keys and slid out of the driver’s seat
without responding, walking to the restaurant.

Sure, that was the no-frills version of what had occurred
between them, but hadn’t she given him the no-frills version of the BDSM
lifestyle? He’d surrendered everything he was to her, felt their connection was
deep enough to call her Mistress and been given nothing in return.

A waiter arrived at the table almost as soon as they were
seated, plunking down two mugs of fresh coffee. Alex ordered whatever was at
the top of the menu without much thought.

“So what are you doing with all of your newfound knowledge?”

“Nothing. I buried myself in golf. Expending my energy that
way seemed like a much more productive task than beating my head against the
wall for something I couldn’t have. Something I wanted more than anything.”
Someone.
“I haven’t given much thought to trusting anyone enough to hand over such a
power exchange since our last night at Sanctuary. I haven’t wanted to be with
anyone else in such a way because I only wanted to be with you.”

The confession felt good. Better than he would have ever
expected. Almost as good as having her sitting across from him again.
Regardless of how they’d parted he couldn’t turn off his feelings or the way
his body reacted. Screw it if she couldn’t deal. He felt the way he did and
damn her for being so negligent with his emotions.

“If you felt that way why did you return the cuffs?”

He met her gaze straight on, emotions churning in his gut.
He could finally finish saying what he’d started in the hospital room. “I
didn’t deserve them. Or you. You gave them to me because I forced you to. Hell,
I probably should have just started depositing money in your bank account for
services rendered. Not exactly the right attitude to have going into something
like this.”

“It’s rare for me to be forced to do anything, Alex. I
wanted you to have them.”