Ransom (The Player Book 5) Read online

Jessica shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he's sticking. Maybe he knows he screwed up. Maybe he really does want you back."

  "I thought you didn't believe in love."

  "I don't. I do believe in a really great chemistry. The kind that's so good it makes a man stick around someone for a while. I do believe in being great partners. Great chemistry leads to being great partners; those are the marriages that last forever."

  Jessica worked at a matchmaking agency. Which was more than ironic, considering her views on love.

  "You're ridiculous. I also thought you had a rule against dating professional athletes."

  "Yes, I do, but you knew him before he was big. So there's special dispensation for that."

  Lexa laughed. "If you say so. But I'm not going to fall for it. He made it extremely clear he had no intentions of catching any feelings. He made it perfectly clear that he didn't want this. Any of this. Who was it that said when someone shows you who they are, believe them? Well, I'm believing the original version of him. The one who was honest with me."

  "Well, maybe he's being honest with you now. Maybe he did make a mistake. Haven't you ever made a mistake?"

  "Yes, too many. And picking the wrong guys is one my biggest ones. I know Ransom's type. I know the type of guy he is, and he is right along the lines of those kind of guys I shouldn't be picking. And when push came to shove, he didn't believe in me, the person he knew. I deserve someone who believes in me all the time."

  "Would your opinion change if I told you he bought you a dress?"

  Lexa frowned. "What are you talking about?"

  Jessica smiled sheepishly. "Don't be mad, but he came by earlier. And he said he wanted to leave your invitation. He wanted it to be the first thing you saw, so I told him to tape it to the door. But, he also left something else for you. It's in your room."

  Lexa couldn't control the wave of butterflies low in her belly. She couldn't control her racing heartbeat. She couldn't control the shallowness in her breath. Those were physiological responses to Ransom. Merely biological. Those were chemistry. Those were not rationality, those were not love.

  But still, she ran into her room, and tore open the dress box on her bed. When she saw what lay inside, she gasped. It was an exact replica of one that Daenerys had worn in Game of Thrones. The detailing was exquisite. Holy cow. Her heart gave just a smidge. It wasn't like she was going to wear it.

  From behind her, Jessica asked, "You going to try it on?"

  "I am not putting this thing on." Because if she did, she might not take it off.

  "Come on. Put it on, we'll take a bunch of pictures in it. Then, I'll try it on, and then we'll return it. I'm sure there is an address in here, somewhere."

  Lexa just laughed as she fingered the silk. Well, it was beautiful. And, she never needed to tell him that she'd worn it. He would never know.

  Turned out, the dress required some assistance putting it on. But when she was in it, Lexa stared at herself in her full-length mirror, fingering the gorgeous white silk. She and Amelia Clarke had the same kind of curvy body. The dress fit like a dream. Dammit. She shouldn't want to go to this ball. Shouldn't want to wear this dress. But she did.

  Jessica whispered as she fingered the hem and tugged it down. "Maybe you've been a little quick to judge him, too." When Lexa scowled at her, she held up her hands. "You know what, I have the perfect shoes for this dress." She shuffled into her room, and came back thirty seconds later with the most delicate pair of sandals. When Lexa tried them on, she couldn't help twirling in her dress.

  Dammit, it looked like she was going to the ball.

  Ransom shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He'd never dressed up for anything in his life. Yeah, sure, Halloween. But he'd been under the age of twelve. Besides, Superman and Batman were badass costumes. Right now, he was wearing a Khal Drogo costume, and he felt like an idiot. But then, the doors opened to the ballroom, and he held his breath. Had she sent her roommate to tell him to fuck off?

  He knew right away it was her, the way the hairs rose on his arms. The way his heart rate ticked up. She'd come. She hadn't said no. They had a chance.

  She tentatively stepped into the room and looked around, her eyes widening at all the candles he'd used to illuminate the space. When she saw him, she froze.

  Shit, this was cheesy. This was so stupid. He fucked this up. But as sure as he was that he got it all wrong, he had to say she looked killer in the dress. He cleared his throat. "Is this too much?"

  She strode over to him, confidence apparent in her every step. "Oh, my God. You look just like him."

  Ransom forced a shaky grin. "Well, I wanted to do my best."

  "I can't believe you did all this."

  He reached for her, and took her hand. "Of course I did. I was serious when I apologized. I screwed up. I know it. I knew it soon as you walked out. Even if you don't want to be with me. Even if it takes you years to forgive me for hurting you. I will wait. Because at the end of the day, all I want is for you to be happy. If that's with me, I'll be ecstatic. If it's not, I can be happy because you're happy."

  That killed him to say, but it was true. He would much rather she be happy with him, but he could deal.

  Tears shone in her eyes, and he automatically reached for her, but she avoided his embrace.

  "No. If you touch me, I will not say what I need to say."

  He nodded and held his tongue.

  "You hurt me. You did it deliberately. And effectively. You went for the kill. That sucked. I don't ever want to feel like that again. And just so you know, that's not what love is. I won't just take it anymore. I deserve to be with someone who loves me. Wholeheartedly. I deserve someone who trusts me, and knows what I am and am not capable of. Are you that person?"

  He didn't even have to think about it. "Yes. I have been a little bit in love with you since I was fifteen years old and you were nice to the gangly, geeky, too-tall kid. I thought you were the most beautiful, kindest girl in the world. And I kicked myself for not having the guts to ask you out then. I kicked myself for years. I will never hurt you like that again. I will kick my own ass personally. I am so in love with you, a part of me feels like I'm dying without you." The tears spilled freely from her cheeks, and he used his thumbs to gently wipe them away.

  Her lower lip trembled. "Ransom, I missed you. So much."

  With a breath of relief, he pulled her to him and held her tight. "I'm never letting you go again."

  Ransom bent his head, and slid his lips over hers, and knew immediately that he was home.

  Epilogue

  Lexa stretched, and pushed at Ransom's shoulder.

  "Let me guess, you don't want me inside you?"

  She giggled even as he rocked his hips into her again. The laugh ended on a moan. "You know the answer to that question is always yes. Yes to all things Ransom inside me. But, can you roll to the side? You're huge."

  He grinned. "That's what she said."

  She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

  He dipped his head and kissed her deep, sliding his tongue over hers, pulling another response out of her. Lexa wasn't sure, but she was starting to suspect it was possible to die from orgasm. "How can you possibly go again?"

  He chuckled and ran his hand up over her hips, to the dip of her waist, to cup her breast. "I'm inside you. It's that simple. Matter of fact, I know I've been threatening to never leave, but I might make that a reality now."

  He smoothed a hand over her ass and tucked her close, turning them to the side. Then he kissed her again, before playing with a lock of her hair. "How did I get so lucky?"

  "We both got lucky."

  His watch alarm pinged. And he sat up abruptly. "Sorry, baby, but there's something I need to show you. I got the confirmation earlier today, and I was told it would be ready by seven PM."

  She moaned and sat up, trying to pull the sheets around her breasts. "What? What's going on? I thought we had a deal about you staying inside me."

  He
nodded. "Yes, we do. After this, we commence that operation. But first—" He opened his laptop, then tapped a few keys and quickly scanned something. Then, he turned the screen around to face her. "Read."

  Her eyes scanned the page. It took a moment to sink in, but then she understood. TMZ had printed a story on Amber Wilson and the methods she used to get her stories. It was all there, laid out in black and white. She'd falsified reports. Falsified statements from supposed sources. TMZ stated that she had lost her job at US Weekly. Fired. And currently, she was a tabloid and journalism pariah. "You did this?"

  He shrugged. "Well, I asked a lot of questions. I wanted that story recanted. Because there is no way in hell anyone would've been able to access that birth certificate without taking it from my mother’s house. Without knowing exactly where to look. I realized she bugged my place."

  Lexa's jaw went slack. "Oh, my God. So you mean to tell me, she's essentially got a sex tape, or several, of us?"

  Ransom shook his head. "I have all the originals. Once I found the bug in the cabin, I set this in motion."

  "I'm so sorry she violated your privacy like that. Our privacy. I'm not usually one for revenge, but this feels like she got off easy."

  "All I wanted was for those pictures of you to be taken down. And they were. And, I wanted her to lose her job. Which she did. So for now, that's enough. I was going to insist on a personal apology to you, but whatever. I got what I wanted, which is you. And I'm never letting you go."

  She grinned up at him, and kissed him with a loud, resounding smack of her lips. "And I got what I wanted. Even if I was unemployed, and having to live in my sister's spare room, I would still be the happiest woman in the world. Because I got to have you."

  "I'm so happy you got the job."

  She studied him closely. "Sweetheart, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the truth."

  He held up three fingers. "Scout's honor."

  She narrowed her gaze. "Were you even a Boy Scout?"

  He grinned. "Is that the question?"

  She shook her head. "I will ask you, are you responsible for me getting the job at HIS?"

  He shook his head. "I can absolutely tell you, I had nothing to do with getting you that job. You got yourself a job. I wasn't in there, in that interview, was I? You needed to answer the questions right, not me. Now, if you're asking if I managed to get your full portfolio to them, then, yeah, I might have. I sent it to a friend who may or may not know John. Then, perhaps, I might have done something like that. But all I did was pass on some information and make sure someone put in front of someone who would read it."

  Her gaze burned with tears. "You did that? For me?"

  He nodded. "Of course. You deserve to have your dream. And you're good enough to have it. So I did what I could to help it along."

  Lexa wound her arms around him, squeezing him tight. "I love you. I love you so much."

  He nuzzled her neck. "I love you too, baby." He kissed her. Then, it was familiar. The instant flash of heat, the need, the warming of her body. She knew what this meant. Death by orgasm. The petite mort. But before she could slide her hand down his chest and wrap her fingers around him, there was a knock on his hotel door. Ransom frowned and pulled back.

  "Did you order room service, or something?"

  "When would I have done that? Sometime between the last three times you had me occupied in this bed? No."

  The person knocked again. And he groaned. "Okay, okay, coming."

  He jumped out of bed and stepped into his boxers, before padding across the massive room to the door. She made a point of tucking and securing the sheets modestly around her. He turned back to her and winked, before dragging open the door.

  Lexa gasped when she saw who was on the other side.

  Ransom stood frozen.

  Fox Coulter smiled wide. "Hey, Ransom. How's it going…cousin?"

  SNEAK PEEK OF GAGE COULTER

  He was going to kiss her. Even as she braced herself, Becker knew she was in trouble. She’d been able to keep him at arm’s length for so long.

  He dipped his head, and his lips hovered over hers for a moment. “Relax, this is supposed to be fun.” The first brush of his lips over hers was soft.

  As soon as Becker relaxed into him, he wrapped his hand around her in an embrace so tight it could keep the world at bay. He shifted the angle of his head and deepened the kiss. She couldn’t help but respond to his insistent tongue as it probed and slid over hers. Teasing, tasting, testing to see if he could intensify the heat. The moment his hands went to her hips and pulled them against his, Becker was lost.

  The heat that pooled in the center of her chest spread throughout her body, scorching the fine hairs on her skin from the inside out. His hands stayed at her waist, but his thumbs drew slow circles on her hip bones that promised hotter things to come.

  For once, Becker didn’t overthink. For once, she didn’t overanalyze. For once, she didn't let fear rule and she just felt. Hot. Tight. Itchy. Gage was her balm. She needed more. She wanted more. Becker moaned, and the sound bounced off the walls.

  Gage kissed like an expert, demanding that she respond to him. This guy could give kissing lessons. And she’d be the first one in line. Every. Single. Time. Her nipples hardened to points with every movement of his chest against hers. He backed her against the wall of the deserted hallway and pressed his body into hers.

  The cautious part of her brain tried to send up a flare. Tried to send out a warning. Tried to send out fear signals, but every instinct told her to feel, to enjoy, that she had nothing to fear here. All she had to do was feel.

  Drawing back, Gage sucked on her bottom lip. Taking turns between gentle pecks and nibbling in an attempt to devour her whole. A pulsing need had her arching her back and pulling him closer to her. While one hand shot into his thick hair and urged him closer, the other hand slid under his T-shirt. This time it was his turn to moan. Was this what everyone kept talking about?

  Was this the feeling that reduced perfectly brilliant, rational women to a pile of irrational hormones? Because, she completely understood why now. All she wanted in life was for Gage’s lips never to leave her body.

  Because of his height, he had to adjust their angle, eventually lifting her easily until his hips pinned her against the wall. And, oh God. The hot hard length of him pressed into her center. And…wow. That felt….so damn good.

  Her hips and his rocked to the thumping base beat coming from somewhere downstairs. She wanted him. For the first time in her life, she got it. She knew what the hell she’d been missing out on. Kissing and boys, and this feeling right here like she might die if he stopped touching her.

  Lust raced through her veins, chased by longing.

  Gage dragged his mouth from hers and kissed along her jawline, then nipped at the column of her throat. “God, why the fuck do you smell so good?”

  “I—” You know what? Screw thinking. She couldn't string enough words together for anything coherent right now anyway.

  READ GAGE NOW!

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  Thank you for reading RANSOM! I hope you enjoyed the fifth book in my new series, The Player.

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