If You Were Mine Read online

  One of his dark brows slowly wings its way upwards. “Is that what you want? Because it would certainly be my pleasure to oblige you with that.”

  I can’t help but toss my hands in the air. “Of course not. But you’ve always made such a big deal about me staying away from your teammates. I just assumed you would have an issue with this.”

  Liam’s gray eyes stay pinned to mine. “All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy, Claire. If JT makes you happy, then I won’t say a word about it. Plus, he’s a hell of a lot better than the other guy you kept bringing around.”

  Again my mouth falls open. “You didn’t like Ryan? But you never said a word…”

  Looking rather pleased with himself, his lips turn up at the corners before he taps his index finger against his head. “It’s a little something called reverse psychology. You should check it out.”

  I roll my eyes before asking, “So you’re totally fine with us seeing each other?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine with it.” Eyes shifting to JT, he suddenly smirks. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to pummel his ass out on the field every chance I get for going behind my back and seducing you.”

  His comment instantly brings color to my cheeks. “He did not seduce me!”

  Not looking intimidated in the least, JT snorts. “Just try it, old man.”

  Liam chuckles. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be sorry that you ever looked sideways at her.”

  Expression sobering, JT glances at me. “Not possible.”

  Even though my brother grunts in response, he looks oddly pleased with the comment. “Alright then, I’m heading home for dinner.” Liam’s eyes touch upon both of us. JT now stands behind me with his arms wrapped around my shoulders so that my back is pressed against the strong wall of his chest. “I expect to see the pair of you for dinner tonight.”

  We both nod.

  It is Thursday, after all.

  And tradition is tradition.

  Especially in the Garrison family.

  Just as he starts walking towards his Escalade which is parked a few rows over, he adds, “And don’t think that she’ll be moving back to your place, Higgins. That won’t be happening on my watch.”

  I glance up at JT before sighing. “You know he’s perfectly serious about that.”

  “Yep, I do.”

  I can’t help but ask, “So, you still interested in dating me?”

  He grins down at me. His brilliant white teeth slashing through the sun-kissed color of his face. “Sweetheart, it’s going to take more than Liam Garrison to get in the way of me being with you.”

  I twist in his arms until my breasts are crushed against the powerful lines of his chest, and I’m able to twine my arms around his neck. Rising up on my toes, I take his lips with my own. Once again, I realize just how right everything feels between us. How right it’s always felt. Even when I was trying to keep my distance, fighting the deep attraction I felt, it was always JT that I wanted.

  It was never my intention to hold off on losing my virginity. It wasn’t like I was waiting around for the perfect guy to come along and sweep me off my feet. And yet, that’s exactly what happened. Somehow the guy I had always thought was totally wrong for me, ended up being absolutely perfect.

  Epilogue

  JT

  The sun is just starting to peek over the horizon as I wake with my arms snaked around Claire. She’s still sleeping soundly. No matter where we are or what we’re doing, I have this insatiable need to be as close to her as possible.

  We’ve been together for six months now. Contrary to what Liam said, she’s now spending every night at my place, in my bed, wrapped up in my arms. Which is exactly where she belongs. Instead of looking for an apartment close to campus, she decided to stay with Liam and Gia, making it much easier for her to spend time at my house.

  After about four months of her going back and forth, and tired of not holding her in my arms when I fell asleep at night, I finally pulled Liam aside and told him that I had every intention of marrying his sister. Not now. Not anytime soon since Claire just turned twenty-two and hasn’t even graduated from college yet.

  But that’s my plan.

  Rather surprisingly, he was cool with it.

  I think he sees just how much loving her has changed me.

  Which in no way means that he didn’t keep his word about pummeling my damn ass out on the field that first month. Yeah… that motherfucker got me good a few dozen times. And I let him, hoping that it would help him get over any lingering objections he might have to us being together. After that, I started hitting back.

  Something powerful contracts in my chest as my eyes once again fall on Claire.

  Sometimes it blows my mind just how much I love her. I spent years hopping from one woman to the next, never bothering to get to know any of them. One was just as interchangeable as the next.

  But Claire… she’s different.

  I have no idea why.

  She just is.

  The very first moment I laid eyes on her, I realized it.

  Three years ago, this would have never worked between us. I was nowhere near ready for the kind of commitment I now have with her. Which only goes to show you that somehow everything worked out just the way it was meant to. I thank my lucky stars each and every day that she finally gave me a chance to prove that I could be a man worthy of her. That I could be different than the man she met all those years ago.

  Unable to resist waking her, I start nibbling on her delectable earlobe until she’s finally stirring in my arms. A little sigh of pleasure falls from her softly parted lips as I continue nipping and laving at her flesh. It goes without saying that I can’t get enough of this woman.

  Those sleepy gray eyes finally feather their way open before blinking at me. A small smile slowly curves her lips upwards as her gaze finally locks on mine.

  “Hey, you.” Her voice is all low and gravelly. Full of slumber. Sexy as hell. My cock had already been stirring to life, but that deep, raspy voice has it going rock hard in an instant.

  “Did I wake you?”

  We both know that I did.

  Her smile widens. “I can’t think of a nicer way to wake in the morning than your lips on me.”

  She turns her face until my mouth is able to coast leisurely over hers. It’s Saturday morning. We’ve got the whole day stretched out ahead of us and nowhere to go. Hell, we could laze about in bed for hours if we wanted.

  Can’t say that idea doesn’t hold a certain amount of appeal.

  Maybe we’ll take a nice long soak in the tub… afterwards.

  As I continue kissing her, she turns her willowy body towards mine until every soft curve is pressed up against all my hard lines.

  Finally pulling away, I whisper, “You know I love you, right?”

  My words have her eyes immediately softening. “I love you, too.” Bringing her fingers to my face, they begin tracing over all the sharp angles and planes as if trying to commit them to memory.

  For some reason, I want her to know what’s in my heart. I don’t want to take one single second with her for granted. “You mean everything to me, Claire. I can’t even begin to imagine my life without you in it.”

  Quietly she searches my eyes before using her hands to push against my chest until I’m falling back onto the soft linens. Then she’s climbing on top of me, seating herself so that she’s straddling my pelvis with her long, lean naked body. Again her hands go to my face. Only this time she cups one cheek in each small hand.

  “Baby, I love you more than anything. I’m yours, and you’re mine, and nothing will ever change that.”

  Eyes holding hers captive, I reach up, brushing aside the long strands of her silky hair so that I can cup one beautiful breast in each hand. Gently I knead the softness as she moans before allowing her head to roll back.

  “Mmmm, I love the way you touch me.”

  “Not half as much as I love touching you,” I whisper in re
ply.

  She shifts until my hard, throbbing length is able to slip deep within the warm, tight sheath of her body. Every single time I slide inside her, there’s this intense feeling of homecoming that reverberates throughout my entire being. A sense of rightness that I’ve never experienced before.

  It’s as if being cradled this deep inside her is where I truly belong.

  Where I was always meant to be.

  Claire Garrison is my everything. She completes me in a way I never expected. Or imagined possible. She’s my other half, my home, the love of my life.

  I spent three years watching her, wanting her. Yearning for something I could never have, something I was nowhere near ready for. But I’m not that guy anymore. Claire makes me want to be the very best man that I can. She makes me want to be a man worthy of her. And now that I am, now that I have everything I could possibly want, I’m going to hold her close and never let go.

  ~The End~

  I hope you enjoyed Claire and JT’s story as much as I loved writing it. If so, please consider leaving a review where you purchased this ebook as well as at Goodreads. Thank you so much for your support!

  One Night Stand

  Chapter One

  Gia

  It’s just after eleven o’clock and already this place is completely packed. Standing room only. It may be some crappy little hole-in-the-wall dive bar, but I can’t deny its popularity. Although I suspect that has a lot to do with cheap beer. Since it’s not even half a mile away from Barnett University, and most of these people look young, my guess is that a lot of college kids have taken up residence here. I’m just glad Noah was able to reserve a small round high top table for the three of us to park ourselves at.

  The lights are low, drunken voices push in from all sides, and the music- well, it’s even louder than these students cutting loose on a Saturday night. The pulsing beat all but reverberates off the walls. Even though this isn’t my usual style of music or venue, my eyes are glued to the four guys performing on stage.

  “I never realized how hot your brother was!” Not once do Harper’s eyes deviate from the stage. “It must be the whole musician vibe he’s got going on.”

  Um, hello… no sister ever wants to hear about one of her friends panting after her younger brother. I scrunch my nose in disgust. “Ewwww! You just can’t go around saying things like that about someone’s baby brother. It’s not right.”

  In typical Harper fashion she grins, not taking my words very seriously. “Sorry, hon. But it’s the truth. He is definitely looking good up there.” Then she points to the horde of overzealous females who are crowded around them, looking as if they just might rush the stage before the performance is even over. “And I’m obviously not the only one who thinks so either.” A slow smirk slides its way across her pretty face. “Looks like little Noah Monroe is going to be getting laid tonight. And my guess is that it’ll be by more than one girl.”

  As soon as those words are released into the air, I quickly clap my hands over my ears before shaking my head vigorously back and forth.

  “That’s not a mental image I need or want. So thanks for that.”

  Sophie and Harper exchange knowing grins. My brother suddenly belts out another lyric, his voice soaring clear as a bell over the guitars and drums. The acoustics may be total crap in here, but he still sounds ridiculously amazing. Another silence falls over the three of us as our attention immediately gets sucked back into the music.

  “Hey ladies, can I buy you a drink?”

  Ugh.

  Not another one.

  Seriously… where do these guys keep coming from? There is absolutely nothing about the three of us that screams- trolling for dudes! Buy us a drink! We’re looking to get laid! Come hit on us! Easy targets right this way!

  And yet, they just keep ambling over.

  One right after another.

  They’re a persistent bunch. I’ll give them that. Why do I keep forgetting this is some crappy bar with drunken college guys who are very obviously looking to get laid?

  Even if I hadn’t recently extricated myself from a three year relationship, I still wouldn’t be interested in hooking up with some twenty-one or twenty-two year old.

  I’m strictly here to watch Noah perform tonight.

  Before I’m able to cut the guy off and send him packing, like I’ve done about four times previously, Harper gives him a quick once over before smiling prettily.

  Uh oh.

  I know that look.

  “Of course you can,” still smiling, her eyes turn into hard little chips of green ice, “but understand that there’s absolutely no obligation on our parts to do anything more than thank you politely for your generosity.” She bats her eyelashes at him as if to soften the blow of her words.

  The guy seems momentarily surprised before an easy grin spreads its way across his handsome face. And yeah, he’s definitely a cutie. But come on… he’s much too young! I’m half tempted to reach over and pinch his cheeks with my fingers, he’s so boyishly adorable.

  “You got it, sweetheart.” Flagging down a harassed looking waitress, he whispers something in her ear before turning back to us. “This round is on me.” He sends Harper one last sly look before leaning just a bit closer to her. “Feel free to thank me once you’re done enjoying your beverage.”

  And then he’s gone.

  Harper’s lips tremble as she continues to watch him disappear through the thick crowd back to wherever he came from.

  When the three of us remain silent, the waitress slants a dark uninterested brow our way before asking, “You gonna order something or what?”

  Normally when the three of us head out for a girl’s night, it isn’t to some low rent college bar where the clientele barely looks to be of legal drinking age. We head downtown to some of the more upscale bars and clubs that line the main drag. And we stick to chardonnay and cosmos.

  But here, my guess is that they don’t have a good house chardonnay or make specialty martinis. Everyone seems to be drinking bottles or mugs of pale looking beer.

  Well… when in Rome, right?

  So we order three bottles of import and go back to watching the final set.

  Harper’s not quite finished with her bottle when she suddenly rises to her feet. “As this group’s self-appointed ambassador, I shall graciously take it upon myself to thank Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome for buying us our drinks.”

  I give her a look rife with meaning. “Just be careful as to how you thank him, Harp. For all you know, he’s not even twenty-one.”

  I’m not saying that I saw peach fuzz but…

  A wicked gleam fills her sparkling green eyes. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m planning to do a little recon before I decide how best to express my gratitude.”

  That being said, she pushes and shoves her way through the thick rowdy crowd. Sophie and I silently meet each other’s gazes from across the small table before bursting into laughter. “I wonder if we’ll even see her again tonight.”

  I almost wince. “Please, these guys are like babies.” They’re so damn young.

  Sophie makes a point of slowly glancing around before her eyes finally find their way back to mine again. “Yeah,” she drawls, “most of them don’t look like babies. Like at all.”

  Silently I have to agree with her assessment. These guys may be young, but some of them are built. Not to mention ripped. I can’t say that I haven’t enjoyed the eye candy tonight.

  But it’s definitely been from afar.

  I can just imagine the headlines now- Nearly thirty year old elementary school teacher takes advantage of barely-out-of-high-school boy.

  Yeah… no thank you.

  Sophie, Harper, and I all work at North Hill Elementary School. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that this is my eighth year teaching second grade. I was extremely fortunate to snag a job in this district straight out of college. Because I love where I’m at, I’ve never even considered looking for a different teaching assignment. />
  Since the three of us are all around the same age, we just naturally banded together, forming a tight trio. Normally we eat lunch together and hang out quite a bit outside of school. Especially now that Tyler and I are no longer together.

  Even though I hate leaving Sophie alone at the table, because I can practically see the sharks circling as we speak, I yell over the music, “I’m going to run to the bathroom. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  With a wide smile, she waves me away before glancing around. “Don’t worry, I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

  “I never said you couldn’t.” Just as I’m about to turn away, I spin back around before adding, “Remember- these guys are like the kiosk salespeople at the mall, avoid eye contact at all costs.”

  She gives me a cheeky grin in return.

  “You worry too much, just go. I’ll be perfectly fine on my own.”

  With one last nod, I begin pushing my way towards the bathroom which is located on the far end of the bar. Because of the crowd packed in tight tonight, it takes a good five minutes for me to even navigate my way to the restrooms.

  Once I finally get there, I’m a little horrified by what I find.

  Has anyone ever cleaned this place?

  I can’t help but press my fingers against my nose before inhaling another breath. The smell is enough to knock me on my ass.

  I’m not going to lie… I actually do a little self-check and consider not using the facilities. But there’s no way I’m going to be able to hold it for another hour or so. Apparently the two drinks I’ve consumed have run right through me.

  Trying to touch as little as possible, I squat over the toilet seat. Once I make it to the sink, I practically scrub the fingerprints right off my hands before using a ripped off sheet of paper towel to open the door handle.

  Once I’m out of the bathroom, I inhale, filling up my lungs with fresh- no, wait. It’s definitely not fresh air, but it’s a lot better than what was inside that bio-hazard of a room.

  I’m just about halfway to the table, when someone steps in front of me, effectively blocking my path. Since this place is packed to the gills, I don’t think too much about it. I simply try sidestepping him so I can make my way back to Sophie. Maybe Harper has already returned to the table by now. She may only be twenty-six, which really isn’t all that much older than some of these college students, but I still can’t see her going home with someone that young. Her last boyfriend was like forty.