The Fearless Groom (Texas Titan Romances) Read online

Page 10


  “X.” One of the girls pointed to him and giggled.

  Izzy whirled and saw him. Her face was flushed with exertion and excitement. She literally shone, and the smiles on the girls’ faces reflected exactly how he felt when Izzy was around. She brought joy and a spark wherever she went.

  Xavier slowly walked toward her, not letting his eyes stray from her beautiful face. She flipped her hair and arched an eyebrow. “Really? You going to drool now?”

  Xavier couldn’t help but laugh. He reached her side and wanted with everything in him to take her in his arms. He stepped close and lowered his voice. “Is this like your dirty dancing?”

  “No!” She laughed. “You really need to see the movie.”

  “Why didn’t we watch your movie on the plane?”

  “I didn’t dare with Mama right there.”

  “Oh? It’s one of those movies.” He pumped his eyebrows and lifted the hair off her shoulder, grazing her smooth skin with his fingertips.

  “Not really, well, sort of.” Her beautiful skin flushed even darker.

  “Maybe we can recreate it?” His voice dropped lower so the girls couldn’t overhear.

  The pulse in her throat throbbed, and she licked her lips, but her answer was a prim. “Not with the children watching.”

  Xavier reached down and took her hand, the simple touch shot awareness through him. He wanted to dance with her and much more. He turned and waved to the girls who were watching them like a movie screen. “Buenas noches. Dulces sueños. Mama está esperando.”

  They all groaned with disappointment, but returned the salutations and filtered from the common area.

  “What did you tell them?” Izzy’s voice was husky as she met his gaze.

  “That I needed to be alone with their beautiful nurse so she could teach me how to dirty dance.”

  She gasped. “You did not.”

  Xavier lifted their clasped hands to his chest and wrapped his other palm around her hip, bringing her body in tight to his. He smiled. “Your willing student, mi bella señorita.”

  Izzy started swaying her hips to the music, and he tried to follow her, but feeling her movements was distracting him completely. She pulled away from him, but held onto his hand, swinging out and shimmying her torso before swinging back in. Xavier laughed and pulled her close again.

  “Now put both hands at my waist.”

  He complied happily. She leaned back, and he almost dropped her in surprise, but he held on, and she arched so low her hair swept the ground as she swooped from one side to the other. Xavier’s breath was coming in short pants, and it was all he could do to keep her waist in his grasp. She came back up and grinned at him.

  “Can we do that again?” he asked.

  She threw back her head and laughed. Xavier bent down and kissed the pulse in her neck. Izzy stopped laughing abruptly and stared at him, her chest rising and lowering quickly.

  “No,” she whispered.

  “No?”

  She shook her head and said, “Now you pick me up by the waist and lift me up high above your head.”

  Xavier was good at taking orders. He’d done it his entire life with his mama, coaches, and superiors in the military. He didn’t mind doing it with Izzy, not at all. He wrapped his palms around her tiny waist and easily plucked her off the ground and lifted her high above his head. She laughed again and straightened out her body like a beautiful arrow above him.

  “Now spin,” she said.

  Xavier smiled at her, hoping he was fulfilling some fantasy or something. He spun a slow circle then carefully lowered her, bringing her in close to his chest. She blinked up at him, those long lashes fluttering appealingly. He studied her, the light sheen on her warm brown skin, and the way her chest rose and fell tellingly. He knew he was affecting her. Her eyes filled with a pleading look, and he hoped she ached for him like he did for her.

  “Do I have to say it?” she asked.

  He wanted her to say it so badly. He wanted her to want him. “Your wish is my command, mi señorita.”

  Her eyes fell to his lips then rose again to his eyes. “Now kiss,” she said softly.

  Xavier’s hands tightened around her back, pulling her up and in. She stood on tiptoes and he bent down, capturing her warm lips with his own, inhaling her intoxicating gardenia scent. She moaned so sweetly he didn’t know that he’d ever been more enamored. He deepened the kiss and …

  “Oh! Excuse me.”

  “Mama,” he whispered against Izzy’s lips. She smiled, and he felt it. They pulled apart and turned to face his mama. This was their first kiss since the two that he had stolen at paintball before he truly knew Izzy. He wanted it to continue all night. Mama’s interruption was horribly timed.

  “Well, I was going to offer some of my pineapple upside down cake, but I think you two have had enough sugar for the night.” Mama winked broadly.

  Xavier wrapped his hand around Izzy’s hip and pulled her against his side. “A man can never get enough sugar.”

  Mama arched an eyebrow. “Come on, now, let’s have our treat and get some rest. If you two want to see the waterfall, you’re going to have to wake up early tomorrow.”

  Xavier nodded and followed along, Izzy at his side. He always obeyed Mama, but tonight he really didn’t want to. He leaned down and whispered so only Izzy could hear, “Was that like your Dirty Dancing?”

  She looked up at him and smiled sweetly. “It was pretty close. You did good, X.”

  He tightened his hold on her. “We need to watch your movie soon then practice over and over again.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Xavier couldn’t think of anything better than having plans with her, especially if they involved … dancing.

  13

  The driver took them up to Horsetail Falls and let them out a short distance from the bridge. It was green and lush along the trail. The hike was too short for Izzy, especially with the fact that she hadn’t been able to run, lift, or do yoga all week, but she wouldn’t complain because she was holding Xavier’s hand. Their dance and kiss last night had broken down a lot of barriers in her heart, and she felt like they were almost a couple. It was a strange and wonderful sensation.

  Xavier stood so tall and protective of her as they walked along the trail. It was a little unnerving to be out away from the orphanage after being sequestered in there the past five days. Any time she got itchy to move more and wanted to go for a run, she thought of the warnings Mama had issued. She didn’t want to be in danger, and she really didn’t want Xavier to have to fight to protect her. No matter how strong Xavier was, if the other man had a knife, gun, or even was simply hopped up on drugs, he could hurt Xavier, possibly even kill him.

  Shivering slightly, she clung tighter to his hand. He smiled down at her, and she was so taken with those dimples and the sparkle in his dark eyes. It felt like they were in their own world in Mexico and especially here in this beautiful spot. He wasn’t the playboy she had imagined, and she’d relaxed and opened up to him more in the short time she’d known him than any man she’d known.

  They approached the bridge, and the mist from the falls cooled the air. Izzy glanced up at the waterfall splitting between huge boulders above her and falling down from the rocks. Then she glanced over the other side of the bridge railing where more water cascaded down to the river, about twenty feet below.

  Xavier watched her. “Do you like it?”

  “It’s so beautiful. This is narrow-minded of me, but when I pictured inland, northern Mexico, I imagined barren wasteland, desert, not gorgeous mountains and waterfalls.”

  He nodded. “I love these mountains. Almost as much as I love the mountains from home. On Sundays, my mama and I used to always drive to Elizabeth, a little town in the mountains near Denver, and go on a hike and bring a picnic. She would buy me a cinnamon roll from Annie’s Bakery afterwards.” He smiled softly.

  Izzy loved his story, but her body tensed. “Do you miss the mountains?” She
leaned against the bridge and looked up at the cascading water, not sure if she wanted his answer. What if he went back to Denver and left her after she’d finally learned to trust? She wanted to laugh at herself, but she couldn’t. They weren’t in a relationship, but for the first time in her life, she wanted to be.

  “Yeah, I do,” he said. “That’s the only problem with Texas—flat.”

  “But that’s why everything’s bigger in Texas, right? You can see for miles and miles.”

  “Try hiking to the top of Pikes Peak, and you can see miles of the most beautiful mountains in the world.”

  “In the world? That’s exaggerating a little bit.” She tried to inflect a teasing tone in her voice but failed miserably.

  He glanced down at her. “You okay?”

  “Sure.” She wasn’t going to let on that she was worried he would leave Dallas. Though it was common knowledge that he was a free agent and Denver was courting him right now. He probably wouldn’t leave his friends and the Triple Threat, right? Could she persuade her father to offer him lots of money? Like she’d ever ask her father for a favor.

  He studied her but didn’t probe deeper. He turned and looked at the waterfall, gripping the railing with his hands. His t-shirt slid up on his arm a little bit and revealed the TTF tattoo. There it was. He loved his team so much that he wouldn’t dream of leaving them. He’d engraved them into his flesh. He wouldn’t want to have to get a new tattoo.

  She couldn’t resist tracing her fingers along the tattoo. He trembled under her touch and glanced down at her, the distance of a few seconds ago disappearing with the warmth in his eyes.

  “I love this tattoo.” She smiled. “For Texas Titan Football or Triple Threat Forever?”

  He shook his head. “Neither actually.”

  “What?” She pulled her hand back. Dang. Maybe he wasn’t as committed to her father’s team and staying in Dallas as she’d assumed.

  He looked back over the waterfall below. She waited, but he didn’t expound. Finally, she couldn’t take it any longer. “Are you going to tell me what it stands for then? Don’t Ace and Kade have them also?”

  He nodded and kept studying the water instead of talking to her. Izzy’s shoulders bunched around her ears, and though she appreciated the beauty around them, she couldn’t enjoy it with him being cryptic and her realizing that he wasn’t committed to his team like she thought he was. What if he did leave for Denver? She loved being around him, and she’d seen such tenderness and charity in him this week. To think, this big tough military man, and nationally-acclaimed football player, adored children and respected and loved his mama. He was just about perfect to her, and he might not be sticking around.

  “I understand if you can’t share the story.” She attempted to be sensitive. There were stories in her past she wouldn’t want to share.

  He glanced down at her. “I don’t think Ace and Kade would care if I shared, but please don’t tell anyone else.”

  “I’m as closed off to social media as anyone you know.”

  He smiled at that. Still gripping the railing, he spoke quietly. She had to lean closer to hear him over the roar of the water. “Three years ago, Ace, Kade, Tiny Tim, and I were in the rookies.”

  “Tiny Tim? I don’t remember him.” Not that she would, she didn’t really follow her father’s football team, though she enjoyed going to the games when she could.

  A ghost of a smile crossed his face, but it was gone quickly. “He was the best.”

  Izzy didn’t miss the was, and her neck tightened. She wasn’t one who thrived on sad stories. She tucked her hair behind her ear and stared at the sparkling water.

  “We were inseparable. It was kind of a given because we were all the newbies, but Tiny Tim was just a stud. Massive, six eight and over three hundred pounds, but really a gentle giant and so stinking funny. You know those guys who are kind of quiet, but then they say something, and you just bust up—can’t hardly believe they said it? That type of guy.” He swallowed and looked down at his hands gripping the railing.

  Several long seconds passed, and Izzy wanted to pry but she didn’t. She didn’t want to hear why Tiny Tim was a was instead of an is. She wished she hadn’t asked about the tattoo.

  “We all thought he was great, and he was ripping it up on the field. Highest tackles from a defensive lineman for a rookie. But I guess he was a little like all of us.”

  “What do you mean?” The words rushed out before she could stop them and not be the prying woman.

  “You don’t get to our level of play without being a perfectionist and pretty hard on yourself. I mean …” He shrugged. “A lot of the players put off this over-confident persona, and we are confident. We do realize we’re talented, but we’re also our own worst critic.”

  It made Izzy’s heart hurt to realize that Xavier wasn’t as confident as he seemed and that many of the players obviously weren’t either. But it made sense, their performance every week and their lives were splayed for all the world to see. They were quite often dissected, analyzed, and picked on. It was probably a miserable fish bowl to live in.

  “The night we played New England, he didn’t play well at all, and the coach reamed him. He went out partying to help forget about it. Then he tried to drive home by himself.” He slowly pulled in a breath then pushed it out. “He was so plastered he drove the wrong way up a freeway ramp, and a semi took out his Jeep.”

  Izzy gasped, remembering the story now. The guy’s full name was Timothy Fuller. Hailey had been in college, not working for the team yet, but she kept track of and idolized all the players. Izzy remembered comforting her after the tragedy.

  He rubbed his palm over the tattoo on his bicep. “Kade came up with the idea to get these. The world would think we were shouting our allegiance to Texas Titans, but for us it means Tiny Tim Fuller.” He fell silent.

  The splashing of the water on the rocks below was their only accompaniment for a few beats then Izzy managed to say, “I’m sorry. That’s horribly sad.”

  He shrugged. “Life, right?”

  A group of teenage boys were approaching the bridge, and Xavier gestured for her to walk ahead of him. “You ready to go? We can take the trail above the falls too.”

  “Sure.” The mood was sober and reflective as they walked to the edge of bridge, exchanging greetings with the teenage boys.

  Suddenly, several of the boys surrounded Xavier, and three more boys appeared in front of Izzy. A lean kid, probably about eighteen, grabbed her arm and yanked her against his side. He reeked of body odor, and she tried to pull away. His buddy had a knife at her neck before she could escape. Izzy shrank back from the cool metal, her heart pumping hard and fast.

  One of the boys was yelling at Xavier in rapid Spanish. She had no clue what he was saying or demanding. Xavier’s face was a mask of frustration as his eyes jockeyed from her to the boy speaking. He held his hands up and nodded, returning a volley of words that Izzy still couldn’t understand.

  The kid holding her wrapped his arms more securely around her waist and sniffed her hair. “Bella señorita,” he murmured.

  Izzy didn’t know if it was possible to be any more terrified as she gagged at his horrible smell. She’d assumed they would want money but his movements and words had her skin crawling and sweat dripping down her chest. The other boy pressed the knife firmly against her throat, and she didn’t even dare swallow.

  Even if Xavier met their demands, would they let them go? They could slice her open easily, and even though Xavier was strong and much larger than any of them, it would be six against one. Her mind scrambled for some kind of solution, some way to escape.

  Xavier slowly put his hand in his back pocket and drew out his wallet. He took out a wad of cash and handed it to the boy who seemed to be the leader. Izzy prayed with everything in her. Please help us. Please inspire them to let us go. She didn’t know if thieves and would-be murderers could feel inspiration, but she was grasping at anything.

  T
he boy took the bills and peeled them apart, counting them. Izzy held her breath. Please let it be enough. Push them to let us go.

  The boy finally nodded to Xavier. Then he gestured to the boys holding her. The knife was pulled away from her neck, and she caught a full breath, though her lungs still felt constricted with terror. The boy with his arms wrapped around her dragged her off the end of the bridge. Izzy cried out and heard Xavier hollering behind her.

  She was looking down at the smaller waterfall that descended below her into the river with boulders and greenery breaking the surface of the water.

  “Adios,” the boy whispered in her ear before shoving her over the edge.

  Izzy screamed, her stomach swooping as she slipped over a large boulder and thumped against another boulder before plunging into the fast-moving river. The water closed over her head, and the current sucked her down. She slammed into another boulder, but she couldn’t drag herself out of the current and get any air. Her lungs were constricting, and the need to draw a breath became overwhelming. Pressure built in her head. Darkness closed in tighter and tighter. There was nothing she could do but pray.

  Xavier’s heart was beating out of control as the boy accepted the money and nodded to him then gestured to the kids holding Izzy. The stinking punks. As soon as Izzy was safe, he was going to chase them down and pummel each of them individually.

  The knife was removed from Izzy’s neck, and Xavier felt the tension in his shoulders ease a little bit, but not enough. He wanted her safe and far away from these losers. He walked toward her, assuming the kid would push her in his direction then run to try and get a head start before Xavier came after them. The kid didn’t even glance at him as he dragged her off the bridge and shoved her over the edge.

 

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