The Balled And The Beautiful: A College Sports Romance Story by Nicole Chance Page A

have been horri—
    Yes, it really would have. Don’t delude yourself, Emilee. She took in a deep breath, smelling Rafe’s masculine scent in the air. If she didn’t cool off, she was likely to pass out. Her stress levels were through the roof now that the imminent threat had passed.
    Seeing those people on television grinding against one another and then looking at Rafe’s bare chest, she didn’t know if she’d ever have something like that. Maybe it was just as well.
    Rafe sat on the bed beside her, forcing her to scoot toward the center of the bed to accommodate him. “Surely you can find another job.” Frowning, he brushed a lock of blonde hair away from her face. “There are other restaurants around, other jobs you could do.”
    A shiver raced through her at his warm touch. She nearly leaned into his hand. “Not really. I... I’ve been supporting myself since I was sixteen. I never had a chance to go to college, so other jobs are kind of out of the question. Plus there aren’t that many restaurants here. I already have my application on file with them, but my chances of getting hired now are so slim.”
    He crooked his finger beneath her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. “I’m sorry you’re in this position. You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. You’ve got plenty of life ahead of you. What did you want to be when you were younger? Before you moved out on your own?”
    “A mother.” Emilee’s mouth fell open, unable to believe she’d told him her truth. He didn’t want to hear about her hardships, did he?
    His eyebrows furrowed a little, and he ran his finger down toward her throat and across to her shoulders. “A mother?”
    Heat warmed her insides, and she nodded slightly not wanting this moment between them to end.
    He leaned in close so his mouth was near her ear. “I could give you that desire. You want me as badly as I want you. I can smell it.”
    She squeezed her thighs together a little, feeling moisture gather in her core. What was he offering? Even if she wanted a child, she couldn’t afford to take care of herself, let alone a tiny baby too. “I...I don’t know. How...?”
    “I can take care of you. Settle down with me. Let me protect you.” He straddled her hips pressing her into the bed as he laid her down. His eyes were no longer dark brown, but almost a golden color now. That was odd, but he pushed her head to the side before she could consider it further, pressing kisses along her neck from her jaw line to her shoulder.
    “Why? You barely...know me.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer even as her mind tried to convince her that this might be wrong. This just felt right, though. She couldn’t even explain it. He lit her body on fire with his touches as if he knew exactly where and how she enjoyed being touched.
    “Because I need this. I want this.” He pulled her chin back around to gaze into his eyes. “I want you.” The force of his words was like a swift, fiery punch to her core. She needed this more than anything else in her life.
    “Yes, Rafe. Please.” Her voice was soft and wanton just like her body.
    Rafe leaned back a little bit to stare down at her. “You’re sure about this?” He trembled as if holding onto every last bit of his control. “You want to make love with me and produce my cubs?”
    The edge of her lust dampened a little at his words. Cubs? Maybe that was just his way of saying children, but she couldn’t forget his eyes going golden like that. “Cu-cubs?” She pressed her thighs together again, her body still feeling hollow and needy even if she was utterly confused.
    He looked down at her thighs as he hovered over her. His warm hand stroked her hip and slid close to the hem of her shorts, but he didn’t touch her intimately yet. “I haven’t been exactly honest. If we have children, the pregnancy will be normal, but once our kids hit puberty, they will become werebears like their father, like me.