Fighting for Love (The Elite Book 3) Read online

  It was going to be a long night.

  * * *

  Somehow they managed to polish off the pizza and keep conversation to neutral topics. Dane’s body co-operated with his mind and his hard-on reduced from painful to not so painful. Another cold shower looked to be on the agenda the moment he returned to his own apartment.

  Brooke walked back into the living room with two bottles of water, her long legs encased in soft jeans eating up the distance. Ah, the joys of being a professional athlete with the prospect of a drug test being sprung on them unexpectedly. Oh, if he wanted to, he could have the occasional beer, but Dane knew his competitive window was small. And since Brooke was here for training, he knew she wouldn’t want to put anything that would be a detriment to her body’s performance in her system.

  She sat back down and, like when he’d first sat down, her body crashed into his. Instinctively, he put his arm around her, keeping her tucked up to his side. He held his breath as her body stiffened against him, before a few seconds later relaxing into his side.

  “I’m glad you came over tonight, Dane.” The words were soft, as though the admission had been dragged from deep within her soul.

  “I am, too.” God, how he wanted to hook a finger under her chin, turn her toward him so he could sample her lips once again. But he resisted. The moment was too perfect. He knew if he tried to kiss her, she’d bolt from her place beside him.

  “How long are you going to be living in this complex?”

  Finally, they were hitting on the topics that had swirled around in the air while they’d been eating, both too afraid to address them and shatter the harmony they’d found.

  Dane brushed a hand down her silky hair, capturing a skein and curling it around his finger. The scent of fresh mint wafted up to him. He could bury his face into the softness. “Probably a couple of months. I can stay longer if I want, but I need my own place. Somewhere away from fellow competitors. Plus, I have all my stuff in storage.”

  “Is your move going to be permanent?”

  “I’ll be here for as long as Coach wants to keep training me.”

  “I don’t imagine he’ll want to break up the relationship you have. Not after the success you had at the Games.”

  “Nothing is guaranteed in this sport. There’s always someone younger or faster nipping at your heels. My goal is get ready for the Commonwealth Games, seeing as they’ll be held in Brisbane in 2018, and after that I’ll re-evaluate and see if I want to continue with my training to aim for Tokyo 2020.”

  “Commonwealth Games? I’ve heard about those. But they don’t get too much coverage in the US.”

  “They used to be known as the Empire Games and usually the competing countries are all members of the Commonwealth. So England, Canada, New Zealand, Asian and the Caribbean nations, to name a few.” He tugged lightly on the portion of hair still curled around his fingers. “We usually rock it at those Games, and win three or four times as many medals as we do at the Olympics.”

  The more they talked, the more Brooke relaxed into his hold. His body burned with an intensity to push her down on the lumpy couch and kiss her until neither one of them could remember their names.

  A yawn wracked Brooke’s body and, with great reluctance, he pushed his desires away. What she needed was a good night’s sleep to get rid of her jetlag, not him jumping her bones.

  “I should go. You need to sleep,” he murmured.

  Dane bit back a groan as Brooke’s arm snaked over his belly and she snuggled into him. The lust he’d pushed aside moments ago roared up inside of him, begging to be unleashed on her. He may have given the impression walking away from her in Rio had been easy, but it had been harder than he’d ever thought it would be. She was the first woman who’d made him laugh at the smallest things. Being with her had given him the courage to start feeling again after the loss of Daisy and all Therese had put him through. He’d shared his worries about his races with Brooke, and he’d shared his victories as well. Boy, how they’d celebrated his victories.

  At the basis of what they’d shared had been a real friendship. A friendship that could’ve grown into more if half the world hadn’t separated them. Regardless of the fact she now lay in his arms, her visit to Australia was going to be over before he knew it. Pursuing a relationship would be the worst thing he could do to the both of them. Both still had goals they wanted to achieve.

  Brooke needed her full focus on this new phase of her career. After the pool, he’d come back to his apartment and looked up Susie Hamilton on the internet, impressed with what he’d read. The opportunity to work with an amazing coach like her didn’t come often and it was no wonder Brooke had taken her up on her offer. He couldn’t let his needs and desires mess this up for her.

  Then why was he angling her head up toward his? Why was he lowering his lips until they rested against Brooke’s soft ones?

  Because he couldn’t resist her.

  His ardor for her overpowered the rational part of his brain.

  One taste. He’d give himself one taste and then he’d leave.

  Brooke’s moan filled his ears and her tongue darted out to touch his. Nope, one taste wasn’t going to be enough.

  5

  Break the kiss.

  Break the kiss.

  The words chanted through her mind. Her ability to heed their command lost as she sank further and further into the vortex created by Dane’s lips on hers.

  Not examining her actions closely, she maneuvered herself until she straddled Dane’s lap, grinding her jean-clad hips against his hardness.

  It had been like this from the moment they met. This insane fire licking its delicious heat around them, engulfing them until they submitted. It consumed them until they transformed from two separate entities and became one.

  She wanted more.

  Needed more.

  Needed it all.

  Brooke grabbed the bottom of Dane’s shirt.

  “Wait.” Dane broke the kiss. She moaned at the loss of contact with him. His warm hands framed her face. The gold in his hazel eyes glowed in the muted light. “Are you sure about this, princess?”

  God, how could he ask? She’d been about to rip his shirt off, so how much surer could she be? But the rational part of her brain, the small bit that hadn’t been scorched during their kiss appreciated Dane’s concern.

  While it hadn’t been her plan when she’d opened the door to him, the outcome of them finishing the night in her bedroom seemed now inevitable.

  What they’d shared in Rio was special. It’d been more than Olympic hormones. It had the possibility of becoming something more if they’d lived in the same country.

  Fate had given them this second chance to enjoy each other. Who knew if, after her six-week stint here, the intense flames that flared up around them could die out? Anything was possible. Telling Dane to leave tonight without feeling him filling her up again wasn’t an option.

  It may not be the smartest thing they did, but it was what she wanted.

  In answer to his question, she shifted her hands from his top and went to hers. She flicked the first button open.

  Then the next.

  Then the next, until the fabric split open.

  “Yes, I’m sure. Are you?” Brooke slipped the material off her shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck. His eyes widened at her plain invitation and the corner of his mouth twitched upward in a sexy smile.

  “Definitely.”

  He scooted to the edge of the couch and stood. She tightened her grip on his neck and hooked her legs around his thighs. The way he walked with confidence in the direction of her bedroom convinced her his apartment had the same layout as hers.

  Once inside her darkened room, she released her hold on his thighs, letting her legs fall until they hit the carpeted floor. The moment her toes touched the ground, she finished what she started in the living room, removing Dane’s shirt.

  Her breath whooshed out of her as she traced her hands o
ver the hills and valleys of his abdomen, his flesh warm beneath her fingertips. He ran his hands over her shoulders and down her back, then up again, stopping when he reached the back clasp of her bra. The fabric loosened. She hated having to remove her hands from his body, but the need to press her chest against his wasn’t one she could ignore.

  “I’ve missed you,” she whispered. Inwardly, she cringed as she heard the neediness in her voice. Wishing the words back was useless. They were out there and she’d have to deal with the fallout from them.

  “I missed you, too,” Dane replied as he lowered his head and possessed her lips. She opened up to him, their tongues continuing the dance they’d started out in the living room.

  Brooke found the snap to his jeans and popped it open. She broke the kiss and gasped out loud as he cupped her breasts, his thumbs brushing across her nipples.

  She’d imagined going to bed alone on her first night in Sydney, but she had no plans to complain about how the night was going to end. Not with his lips trailing a hot wet trail over her jaw and down her neck before reaching their final destination—her breasts.

  With renewed vigor, she found his jeans zipper tab and tugged it down, her fingers tracing the hardness as she went.

  He groaned against her skin when she pushed his jeans down and slipped her hand inside his cotton boxers. Her fingers closed around his firm flesh.

  “Yes.” The word hissed out of her as she reacquainted herself with his cock.

  Dane grabbed her hand and pulled it away from him. She pouted. He leaned forward and gently bit her plump bottom lip. Hot, molten shots of electricity zinged through her.

  “Hell, princess,” he uttered as he quickly divested her of own jeans and panties. “I need to be inside you.”

  Brooke stepped out of the denim and climbed on her bed. Resting her back against the pillows, she crooked her finger at him. “Come and get me.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.” Dane whipped his boxers off and then reached into his jeans for his wallet. He pulled a condom out, rolled the latex down his hard length and was lying down next to her in a blink of an eye.

  “No wonder you win races. Those were some quick moves.”

  “Trust me, I know how to go slow.”

  “Show me,” she teased, loving their gentle, light-hearted banter.

  He shifted closer to her, nipping at her earlobe. “With pleasure.”

  His fingers once again found the nipple of her right breast. He plucked the nub. She lifted her hips as a shaft of pleasure arrowed down to her pussy.

  Suddenly she didn’t want him to go slow. She wanted him buried deep inside of her.

  “More,” she moaned the minute his lips replaced his fingers, freeing them to trail down her belly, her muscles jumping beneath his touch. His fingers brushed against her slick folds.

  She shuddered as he lightly stroked her sensitive flesh. It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.

  As if sensing her growing desire, Dane adjusted his position until his body lay over hers. His hard cock nudged her pussy.

  With one smooth thrust, he slid into her, her body opening for him in remembrance.

  “Perfection.”

  Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Brooke wanted to agree with his assertion. It was perfect. So very perfect that it scared her. Instead, she lifted her head so she could kiss his neck. Her arms squeezed, encouraging him to start moving. He answered her call and pulled out before thrusting back in, his rhythm slow and sure. Torturous would be one way to describe it. She wanted him to go faster, to take her to the brink, and then fall over with her. But she also wanted it to last so she could savor having Dane back in her arms again.

  Her toes tingled as her orgasm built inside of her. Dane’s motions became more erratic, all finesse gone as the same need that owned her and her body’s reactions filled him as well.

  Without warning, her climax hurtled through her. She cried out his name over and over as her body pulsed with release, tightening and relaxing around his hard length. Three thrusts later and Dane pumped his seed into the condom. His cry of completion echoed around her small bedroom as he collapsed against her. His weight brought the welcome memory of every other time they’d been together, and he’d been unable to prevent himself from falling into her after his climax.

  She kissed his glistening shoulder, tasting the saltiness mingled with the spiciness of his skin. It was a taste she’d never get tired of sampling.

  Dane pulled himself out of his post-coital reverie and rolled over onto his back, tucking her into his side.

  Exhaustion from the long flight and their intense lovemaking embraced her, sinking its claws into her muscles and consciousness. Her eyelids drifted shut, pushing any worry about what might happen next out of her mind.

  * * *

  A feather-light touch, a brush of lips to her shoulder pulled Brooke out of her sleep.

  Her eyelids fluttered open, and slowly the sleep cleared from her vision. She spied Dane crouched beside the bed. Fully dressed.

  Okay, so no second round was happening. Brooke valiantly pushed the disappointment away, not very successfully, with the way her stomach was churning.

  He brushed away a tendril of hair from her forehead, lingering, as though reluctant to break the connection. Her skin tingled from the sweet touch. “Hey, princess, I need to go. I’ve got an early morning training session.”

  A quick glance at the clock told her it wasn’t the middle of the night but six in the morning. She’d slept soundly the whole night.

  “Okay,” she mumbled, not sure what else she should say. She couldn’t very well say, don’t go. He was as committed to his career as she was.

  “Do you have a session with Susie today?”

  Her mind was still a scramble of incoherent thoughts. She needed more sleep. “I’ve got a meeting with her at eleven to discuss a plan of action. After that, I’m not sure. I might do some practice. Keep my fitness up.”

  “Right,” he nodded and placed a perfunctory kiss on her forehead. “Go back to sleep. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Sleep was dragging her down again. Why was she so tired?

  “Bye.” At least that’s what she thought came out of her mouth. The word formed fully in her mind, but whether it made it out, she had no idea. The soft click of her front door registered in her consciousness before she sank back into a dreamless sleep.

  The next time she woke the sun lit her room in a warm yellow glow. She stretched, her muscles protesting with the simple movement. No doubt a combination from the long flight and then the session in bed with Dane.

  Her stomach contracted again and a wave of nausea hit her. Brooke sucked in a couple of deep breaths, her stomach seeming to settle down. Damn jet lag messing with her system, although it didn’t usually affect her like this. Then again, last night wasn’t her usual first night after a long flight.

  Oh God, what had she and Dane done last night?

  Duh, had pretty amazing sex.

  Mentally rolling her eyes as the little voice in her head stated the obvious. If she wanted to, she could blame her lack of judgment on the jetlag, but she’d known exactly what she’d been doing. Which meant she shouldn’t have any second thoughts or regrets now.

  Brooke flung the covers back and padded naked into the adjoining bathroom. A wave of dizziness engulfed her, dark spots threatening to take over her vision. She grabbed onto the doorframe, waiting for the sensation to go away.

  When she felt sure she wouldn’t end up on the floor if she let go of the wooden frame, she walked over to the shower and turned the dials.

  As she showered, she sent a short prayer up to whoever was listening that she wasn’t getting sick. An illness of any sort was the last thing she needed. Any little thing could jeopardize this chance she’d been offered.

  She’d come too far to let a queasy stomach or a bout of dizziness prevent her from fulfilling her goal for this trip.

  Keeping her distance from Dane
might be difficult, but a necessity. She would need to work on resisting him, ignoring her body when it craved his touch once again.

  6

  Dane sat in the top row of the bleachers at the pool, watching Brooke work on her dives. He recognized a couple of them from when he watched her and Lulu during their event at the Games.

  To his less than expert eyes, the dives looked flawless. He had a feeling what he thought looked flawless were probably not to Brooke.

  “Great work, Brooke.”

  Susie Hamilton’s voice floated over to him. He hadn’t realized Susie was even there, watching Brooke as well.

  “Thanks.” He caught Brooke’s answer. He didn’t hear the rest of the conversation as the two women walked behind the diving tower.

  What he should do was leave. He didn’t know how Brooke would take him watching her. But he’d felt bad walking out on her this morning. Not that his excuse had been a means to escape. It had totally been valid and truthful. If he’d had his way, he would’ve stayed in Brooke’s warm bed, her body cocooned in his arms.

  Hell, he needed to stop with imagining things that couldn’t happen. He’d moved states so he could continue working with his coach. He couldn’t rest on his laurels, not with how fickle swimming could be. And he needed to stop getting caught up in his hormones. He was twenty six, for goodness sake. He wasn’t a horny teenager who couldn’t focus on anything but where his next lay was coming from.

  This was real life.

  A real life where he had goals to achieve.

  There was still so much he wanted to grab at while the opportunities presented themselves to him. The reality of his world was that it could be over in a blink of an eye. A younger, faster, better-looking swimmer could burst onto the scene, and snatch away sponsors. Swimming didn’t pay a lot, and sponsors were what provided the bulk of his income. All he’d ever known was swimming. It had provided him with the means to buy his parents a house and himself an apartment in Melbourne. Sure, he had the rental income from his place while he lived in Sydney, but he would be paying rent here, too. At this point in his life, he wasn’t ready to retire from the sport he loved. The name of the game was to keep his eye on the prize—continuing to compete and win. Make the team for the Commonwealth Games and then look toward Tokyo, all the while maintaining his sponsors and picking up new ones to ensure he would be in a good financial position when the time came for him to retire. As much as he’d missed Brooke and how fantastic last night had been, it had to be a one-off occurrence only.