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  “I guess this means I need to break the news to my mother,” I said glumly.

  “Unless you want the press to do it,” he replied. “I mean, there’s some benefit to having them do the dirty work, isn’t there?”

  “Yeah, except she’s going to pitch a fit no matter how I do it,” I said, envisioning my mother’s response to learning that her daughter was not only dating, but living with, the owner of the Bears’ rival.

  “But you’re going to win,” he said giving me a confused look.

  “You do understand that winning comes with a price, don’t you?” I asked, irritated that he seemed to blind to the fact that this shift in loyalties wasn’t something easy for me.

  “I get that, but there’s a price for everything,” he said as he stared at me. “Sometimes the price is small, and sometimes it’s large, but you figure out what you can pay and keep moving forward.”

  “I’m glad you find it all so easy,” I shot back as I grew even more annoyed.

  “I don’t find it easy,” he said, watching me closely. We stared at each other without speaking for several moments, until Dax cleared his throat and said, “So, be ready to head to training camp on Friday.”

  I nodded in acknowledgement and turned back toward the computer without saying another word.

  CONTRACT VOLUME III

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Dax

  Most teams had training centers, but some borrowed the facilities from colleges or universities. I hadn’t had time to build a facility, so I had arranged for the Storm to train at the University of Illinois campus in Urbana-Champagne and live in the dorms during training week. I’d arranged for Payton and I to occupy a suite of rooms at the hotel near where the Storm would be training, and I’d leaked the exact location to a couple of reporters who I knew would be interested in following us around.

  We’d ridden down to the hotel together in silence. I knew Payton was still annoyed about the night she’d moved in, but I also knew there was no way I was going to let her run roughshod over me. Neither one of us had approached the issue of sex in the past week and a half, but I knew we were going to have to discuss it eventually. My attraction to her had grown stronger since she’d moved in, and, right now, sitting next to her in the back seat of the SUV, I could feel the pull.

  She was wearing a sundress that combined the bright yellow and blue of the Storm colors, and she looked fresh and lovely in it. I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she checked her phone before sighing and then storing it in her purse.

  “Everything okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, it’s just…” she trailed off looking out the window.

  “Just what?”

  “I’m just preparing myself for my mother’s reaction once she sees the articles that will come out about this trip,” she said, not looking at me. She continued, “It’s one thing to feel resistant, but quite another to actually be resistant, you know?”

  “Not really,” I said earning a sideways glance from her. I wasn’t sure that was a good thing, so I tried to explain. “All I mean is that I’ve never had to resist my family, so I don’t know what that feels like.”

  “Ah, I see,” she nodded. “Well, I can tell you that it doesn’t feel good.”

  “Can I help make it feel any easier?” I asked, genuinely wanting to do something if I could.

  “No, I got myself into this mess,” she said shaking her head. “I’ll shoulder the responsibility.”

  I looked at her for a moment, and then reached out and took her hand squeezing it lightly before letting go.

  “If that changes, let me know,” I said softly. Payton nodded silently.

  She didn’t say another word until we reach the hotel, and I didn’t push her. As we pulled up in front of the hotel, she gathered her things in one arm before looking over at me and flashing a big, but very fake, smile.

  “You ready for this?” she asked. “We’re headed into the mouth of the beast.”

  “At least we’ve got each other,” I quipped, earning a small chuckle.

  “Yeah, at least we’ve got that,” she replied as the door opened and she stepped out.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Payton

  We quickly dropped our things off in the large suite Dax had arranged for us, and then headed down to the training field. As much as I’d dreaded the inevitable conflict the media attention was going to cause, I’d actually been looking forward to training camp and being around the team. There was nothing quite like the feeling of the beginning of a new football season and the way a team began to come back together after being away from the game and each other.

  Dax’s attempt at offering an olive branch on the ride down to the camp had made me lower my walls a bit, and when we’d exited the Navigator in front of the hotel, the way that he’d protectively put his arm around me and guided me past the waiting photographers and reporters softened me a bit more. I knew that if we were going to be convincing, I’d have to let go of my irritation over our first night together and figure out a way to make this work. I also knew there was no way I was going to be able to keep him at arm’s length for the duration.

  I wanted him and every day I felt the desire growing stronger. I watched him toss his bag on the bed and admired the way he looked in jeans and a Storm t-shirt. I blushed and looked away when he turned and caught me staring.

  “See something you like?” he grinned.

  “You look good in jeans and a t-shirt,” I mumbled as I opened my suitcase and pulled out a wide-brimmed hat and put it on.

  “And you look pretty in that dress,” he said as he walked toward me, smiling. Standing inches away, he reached out and removed the hat as he asked, “Are you ever going to forgive me?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe,” I said, grabbing the hat, but not putting it back on. I could feel his magnetism pulling me toward him as my heart began to beat faster. I looked up into his dark eyes and wondered what he was thinking.

  “Payton, it’s going to be a really long season if you stay mad at me like this,” he said reaching out and lightly brushing his fingers across my cheek, sending a shiver up my spine and igniting the desire I’d so carefully buried after the first night. Dax leaned in until our lips were only millimeters apart and whispered, “I don’t want you to be mad at me anymore.”

  “I don’t want to be either,” I whispered as I tipped my head up and brushed my lips against his. Dax came the rest of the way and pressed his lips firmly against mine. I moaned softly as I felt his tongue gently probing my lips, pushing them apart as the kiss deepened. I pulled back, gasping, “I want an apology.”

  “For what?” he murmured as he leaned in to kiss me again.

  “You know what,” I said, placing my palm against his chest and pushing him away.

  “No, seriously, I have no idea,” he said backing up with a confused look. “What am I supposed to apologize for?”

  “The first night I moved in!” I replied. I was taken aback that he didn’t remember what had happened or why I would be mad about it.

  “You mean the night I gave you a massive orgasm and walked away with blue balls?” he asked.

  “The night you took advantage of me and then left me alone!” I corrected in a raised voice. Irritation quickly replaced the desire that had been building between us, and I added, “You are such a jerk sometimes. You know that you used me and then walked away to prove a point.”

  “Why on earth would I do that?” he asked, feigning innocence. I didn’t buy it. I knew what he had done only because I’d done is many times myself.

  “Because you didn’t like the fact that I negotiated sex into the contract and you were mad that it wasn’t all on your terms,” I said. “Your ego was hurt and you wanted to make a point about it.”

  “Now, that seems rather foolish for me to turn down sex with a hottie like you,” he said dryly.

  “Oh, be still my beating heart,” I said, rolling my eyes as I gripped the hat in my h
and tightly enough to crush the brim. “You’re such a romancer, Connor!”

  “Lady, I have no idea what the hell just happened here,” he said, looking genuinely confused. “We were kissing and then you went off on me for some grudge you’re holding. I don’t think it’s right or even fair.”

  “And I don’t think it’s fair that you play games with me and then feign ignorance when I’m upset about it,” I said angrily. “If we’re going to make this work for the press, then you’re going to have to give a little you know.”

  “I fully intend to give a lot,” he said, flashing a lecherous grin.

  “God, you are such a douche,” I said, rolling my eyes as I pulled my hat back on and smoothed the wrinkled brim in the mirror before heading for the door. “I’d suggest you find a way to put on your big boy pants and become someone I might be interested in.”

  “And I suggest you get the hell off of your high horse, lady,” he retorted. “I’m not tall enough to reach you up there.”

  I shot him a murderous look as I whipped open the door to our suite and marched down the hallway to the elevator. I jammed my finger against the button and winced when I hit the surface a little too hard and broke my nail.

  “Careful, princess; it’s dangerous out here,” Dax teased as he walked up behind me.

  “Go to hell, Connor,” I said as I turned and headed for the stairwell, leaving him standing in front of the elevator.

  “I’ll wait for you downstairs,” he called before the door slammed shut and left me standing in the cement stairwell, trying to swallow my feelings.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Dax

  I waited until Payton emerged from the stairwell and entered the lobby before I headed out to the Navigator. I waited, holding the door open and not saying a word, as she swept out of the hotel and slid into the SUV. The ride to the training facility was icy and her silence told me that we’d lost whatever yardage we’d gained with the kiss.

  I sighed as I looked out the window and tried to decide whether it was worth it to continue with this charade or if we should just agree to call it quits before it all blew up in our faces. I was mad at Payton for being such a spoiled, rich girl who threw a temper tantrum when she didn’t get her way.

  As we pulled up to the training facility, I saw the press jump to attention. I looked over at Payton fully expecting her to still be angry with me and make me pay the price. Instead, she smiled brightly and reached out to take my hand.

  “Let’s go do this, shall we?” she said squeezing my hand. I nodded, opened the door as she slid across the backseat, and exited the Navigator smiling up at me as if I were the center of her world. I held tightly to her hand as we pushed through the crowd without answering any questions.

  “Mr. Connor, how long have you been dating Miss Lasky?” a reporter yelled.

  “Is your mother upset, Miss Lasky?” another one shouted.

  “How are you going to explain this to the Bears?” a third reporter yelled over the others.

  Payton ignored the questions and focused on running the gauntlet with me. Security guards kept the crowd at bay as best they could, but they couldn’t stop them from snapping picture after picture of Payton and I hand in hand, but then we didn’t want them to either. Once we were safely inside the facility, I looked down at Payton and said, “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  She gave me a look that let me know she wasn’t buying what I was selling and let go of my hand. I headed for the locker room with her close on my heels, but stopped her at the door.

  “You can’t come in here,” I said.

  “Are you serious?” she shot back incredulously. “Connor, I grew up in a damn locker room! There’s nothing in here that I haven’t seen before or even care about.”

  “Uh huh,” I nodded skeptically. “Why don’t you meet me out on the field. I’ll have security walk you around.”

  She muttered something under her breath before turning away. I sighed as I watched her follow the facility security guard through the hallway toward the practice field, and then went into the locker room to find Nick Wilcox. Nick’s assistants pointed me to the practice field saying he’d gone out to double check the equipment, so I headed out the player’s door on to the field.

  As I exited the locker room, I heard Coach Wilcox’s voice rising above the din of the practice field, but I couldn’t make out what he was yelling until I got closer.

  “Oh, hell no! You are not going to be allowed on my practice field, lady!” he shouted as I stepped around the players who’d gathered near the water table and were surreptitiously watching the commotion. “This is totally unacceptable!”

  “Coach Wilcox…” Payton said calmly.

  “NO! Absolutely not!” Wilcox yelled. “Get off of my field and away from my training camp!”

  “Is there a problem here, Nick?” I asked as I stepped between him and Payton. Beads of sweat had formed on Nick’s upper lip and his face was beet red. To say that he was stressed was an understatement.

  “This…woman cannot be at the Storm training camp, Dax!” Nick yelled as he pointed at Payton and stared at me. “She’s the enemy! She’s a goddamn Halas, for Christ’s sake! Have you lost your goddamn mind?”

  “Watch your language, Nick,” I warned

  “Oh please, I’ve heard and said far worse,” Payton scoffed. I turned and shot her a look that let her know I wasn’t fooling around. She nodded and backed down.

  “Ms. Lasky is here as my guest,” I said looking back at the coach whose face was growing redder by the minute. “And as my guest, I’d ask you to extend her every courtesy that you’d extend any other guest of the Storm.”

  “But Dax, we can’t—” he sputtered.

  “Enough!” I roared. “I’m the owner of this team and Ms. Lasky is my guest. She is welcome on the field and at practice for as long as she likes. Got it?”

  “Son of a,” Nick muttered as he kicked the turf and slammed his clipboard down on the bench. “This is ridiculous, Connor!”

  “Not up for debate,” I said sternly. Nick shot me a look that told me everything he was thinking. I sympathized with his reasoning, but I also knew that Payton wasn’t going to go running back to the Bears with our playbook. She wasn’t a spy.

  Nick walked up and down the sidelines for a few minutes and calmed down before he walked back out on the field and resumed training camp drills. I looked over at Payton, who had pulled her hat down low and was watching the opposite end of the field where our kicker was warming up for field goal practice.

  “You okay?” I asked, resting a hand on her arm in an attempt to comfort her.

  “Yeah, fine,” she nodded without looking at me.

  Payton watched intently as the team moved through their practice drills, but she didn’t say a word to me for the rest of the afternoon.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Payton

  That afternoon, it was scorching hot on the field and I wanted nothing more than to call it quits and go back to the suite and enjoy a cool, refreshing drink and the comfort of air conditioning, but I knew if I left before the practice was over, Nick Wilcox would think he’d won. There was no way I was going to let that man get the best of me, so I suffered in silence as I counted down the minutes until practice ended and I could escape.

  Dax spent the afternoon wandering up and down the sidelines, watching the players run through their drills, and occasionally asking questions about the benefits of each drill. As I watched him out of the corner of my eye, I realized he reminded me a lot of my father. Tall, dark, and handsome with an underlying fierceness that they only showed when absolutely necessary. I smiled as I recalled the afternoons my father spent striding up and down the sidelines alongside my grandfather, listening to the old man tell him how things ought to be. Daddy had loved and respected my grandfather deeply, but he’d never let Granddaddy take advantage of him. It was a fine line, and he walked it well.

  Having come from the Bears family,
I knew that Nick’s outburst was not only understandable, but also expected. If someone like me had suddenly shown up on the sidelines of the Bears training camp, Granddaddy would have been equally suspicious. I didn’t take it personally, but something told me that Nick Wilcox wasn’t just suspicious of me. I didn’t have any evidence of anything beyond what had happened, so I tucked the memory away in the back of my mind for future reference.

  As soon as practice was over, I headed straight for the Navigator idling in the drive. I could feel the effects of the sun’s rays on my skin and I was eager to get back to the hotel and take a dip in the enormous rooftop pool. As we waited for Dax to appear, I thought about how I was going to explain all of this to my mother. I knew she’d be furious with me, but I also know that I’d take a bit of pleasure in telling her. She’d put me in an untenable position and I’d done what I’d needed to do. She was going to have to deal with it.

  “Hey, aren’t we waiting for Dax?” I leaned forward and asked Geo as the SUV pulled away from the training facility.

  “I’ll come back for him, ma’am,” the man responded without looking at me.

  “I see,” I said, leaning back against the cool leather seat and wondering what business Dax had to take care of before he returned to the hotel. I didn’t like the fact that we didn’t talk much about football or the team, but I knew that given the situation, it was unlikely that Dax would suddenly trust me with insider information about the team.

  I sighed and looked out the window as the vehicle moved through the small city. Champagne-Urbana was a beautiful, little college town, and without the students it felt almost pastoral. I wondered where we’d go for dinner and whether there was a bookstore nearby. I made a mental note to do a search for one after my swim.

  It wasn’t long before we were pulling into the hotel drive, and by the time I got up to the room, I wondered if maybe a nap might be a better choice than a swim. Deciding my first choice was the best option, I slipped out of my clothes, pulled my bikini out of my suitcase, and put it on. I had just grabbed a towel from the luxuriously large bathroom when my phone rang. The ringtone let me know it was my mother. Now was as good a time as any.