Dominate (University of Gatica #5)
Read Dominate (University of Gatica #5) Online
Authors: Lexy Timms
Dominate
The University of Gatica Series
By
Lexy Timms
Copyright 2016 by Lexy Timms
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2016 by Lexy Timms
Cover by: Book Cover by Design
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
Contents
FIND LEXY TIMM
S
:
Website:
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Book Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FdSZUaJ2q0
Newsletter:
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Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Lexy-Timms/e/B00HZ3O3QW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Book Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FdSZUaJ2q0
The Recruiting Trip
Book One is now available!
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/
B00PWL3X92
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/
B00PWL3X92
Faster
Book Two:
Amazon US:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/
B00R9RQ4AM
Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/
B00R9RQ4AM
Higher
Book Three:
Amazon US:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TOJ0T8Q
Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TOJ0T8Q
Stronger
Book Four:
US:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X5W550U
UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00X5W550U
Dominate
Book Five:
US:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FPLXX6Q
This is Book 5 of a 5 book series
(with more to come if readers request!)
Book Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FdSZUaJ2q0
Tyler Jensen has it all—good looks, charm, athletic talent, the swag and attitude that make him the big man on campus, with a multi-million-dollar NFL contract on the horizon.
Not one to give up on a challenge, Tyler pushes his limits as the pressures mount to continue being a star athlete in two sports, the high expectations of the school and attention he's getting from around the country, the media, and trying to win Aileen over.
Aileen Nessa wants to fall for the boy with amber-green eyes. Her body responds to his touch and she knows she can get lost in those beautiful eyes when he gazes at her. However, can he compete with her first love—track and field?
* This is NOT erotica* It is a new adult & college sport romance.
*
“You sure you remember how to do this?” Aileen teased, slowly jogging back toward the starting position. “Should I go easy on you so I don’t hurt your feelings?”
Tyler Jensen, University of Gatica’s star football player, kept pace with her. Even with the scent of rubber and sweat that lingered over the indoor track, Aileen could smell him, that musky scent of expensive cologne that had driven her wild since the moment she met him.
He fixed his startling, amber-green eyes on her, lips twitching up into a smile. “You really think you have what it takes to back that up?”
Aileen let her eyes slide over the ripple of muscle under the clinging fabric of his gray t-shirt, and gave him a long look from under her lashes. “I think I’ve got what it takes to take you down,” she shot back.
Tyler stared at her, his eyes burning with desire, and Aileen was almost sure he was going to kiss her right then and there on the track in front of all the high-jumpers and pole-vaulters and whoever else was watching. Her heart rate picked up in a way that had nothing to do with the sprints they’d just been running. It didn’t matter how many times they’d kissed, how many times she’d held him close or felt his hands on her, she was never going to get enough.
Laughter from the track side broke the moment. When Aileen managed to tear her gaze from Tyler, she found Coach Anderson standing a few yards to their right, shaking his head.
“Got a problem with a little friendly rivalry, Coach?” Tyler asked him, his grin making it pretty clear that he didn’t feel at all repentant.
“Not a bit,” Coach Anderson answered. “Just wondering if you two want to really give it a go.”
Aileen leaned forward a little. “I’m listening,” she said.
“You two race against each other. Tyler sixty meters, and Aileen fifty. Whoever wins gets…” He paused like he was trying to decide what the prize would be, then shrugged. “…bragging rights and short-lived fame.”
It was Aileen’s turn to laugh. “Sounds good to me, Coach.”
“I also want to compete next weekend,” Tyler said beside her.
The coach frowned at him. “You sure you’re ready for that, Tyler? You haven’t set foot on a track since last school year. Everyone else running is going to have been on the track for months already, and I don’t want you going into this thing unprepared.”
“Completely sure,” Tyler answered.
“Tell you what,” the coach decided. “You manage to match Aileen's time or beat her and I'll let you race next weekend. That sound fair to you?”
Tyler nodded. “It does.”
“Good. Then take your marks.”
Aileen could see, as she jogged over to the starting blocks, that several of the other track athletes were watching them, obviously waiting to see what the outcome would be, and she took a deep breath and let it out again, preparing. Love Tyler or not, she was going to beat him in this race. She hated to lose just as much as she knew he did.
Tyler was ten meters behind her at his own block, so she couldn't talk to him before the race started, but she glanced back over her shoulder as she took her place and gave him a 'come and get it' look. He met her gaze, giving her a grin that promised he was going to do exactly that. Aileen tried not to look too smug as she turned her face back forward. She was going to enjoy this.
“Set!” the coach called, and she straightened her legs, taking a slow, deep breath.
She could feel the steady beat of her heart against her ribcage, could hear the low murmur of voices around them and the occasional flop of a body against a mat. The sound of feet running. She let the breath out.
The starting whistle shrilled, and Aileen pushed off the block and launched herself forward, legs pumping. Behind her, she could hear Tyler's feet following, louder than the others. Closer. He wasn't quite caught up with her yet, and he had one more hurdle than she did to jump. But if she knew Tyler, it was going to be a close race, whether he’d spent the outdoor season on the track or not.
She narrowed her eyes on her target, the first hurdle, and readied herself. Push off, up and over, front leg down. She hit ground again, muscles singing with the sudden burst of explosive movement.
There was always a moment in the middle of the chaos of sprinting when the world went quiet. The sounds around her stopped mattering, and the only thing she could hear was the rush of her breath in her lungs and the pounding rhythm of feet against the mondo track. Her heart was beating fast and steady in her chest, her body working in perfect synchronicity toward her goal.
Hurdle two. Up and over. She glanced to her side, and saw Tyler out of the corner of her eye. He was gaining on her. She pushed herself for another burst of speed, but he was up beside her an instant later, giving her a jaunty little wave as they went over the next hurdle.
Okay, last hurdle...
She bounded over and hit the final stretch, pushing for all she was worth. Tyler's back got closer. And then she was even with him. Nearly passing. Her foot crossed the line, and she slowly wound her all-out sprint down to a jog, and then a walk, her blood still rocketing through her veins with the burst of adrenaline. She’d managed to beat him? If so, it was just barely.
“Wow, girl!” Jani called from over by the high-jump mats. “What did they put in your Wheaties this morning?”
Still panting for air, Aileen gave her roommate a glare that utterly failed to impress her, as usual.
“Good job, Aileen,” Coach Anderson said, raising his eyebrows at his stopwatch. “And Tyler. I guess you're ready after all.”
“I did tell you, Coach,” Tyler answered, not even breathing hard. Show-off. “You’re always underestimating me.”
“And I told
you
,” Aileen said, intent on knocking him off his high horse before he got too comfortable up there, “that I was going to take you down hard. And what do you know? I did.”
Tyler gave her a look that promised trouble later, his eyes smoldering. “Anyone ever tell you that you're a sore winner?”
She hoped she was going to be a sore winner, and if the coach hadn’t been standing right there she might have even said it. Tyler looked at her like he knew what she was thinking, and Aileen smiled her best innocent smile at him. He snorted, but didn’t say anything. She knew he didn’t believe her. That made it even better. Giving him one last lingering look, she sauntered away toward her backpack to take her spikes off.
***
“You know you’re kind of a tease,” Tyler said as they met up to walk to his car after practice. His smile said that he didn’t mean the words, or that if he did he didn’t mean them as an insult. He looked, in fact, like he was pretty happy with her teasing ways, and Aileen smiled back at him.
“Is that so?”
“It is so,” he answered, hooking an arm around her waist and drawing her in to walk close to him, their hips bumping against each other.
“I’ll have to make up for that, then.”
He leaned over to steal a kiss. Aileen thought it had been meant to be fast, but she wrapped an arm around his neck and pushed up on her toes to press her body to his, making it slow.
“But first,” she said as they parted, giving him a grin, “a little more teasing, maybe.”
Tyler groaned as he moved to unlock his car. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Didn’t we already have that discussion?” Aileen countered as she slid into the passenger seat. “At least you’ll die happy.” She reached out and patted the dashboard of the car. “Hey, Lizzy. Did you miss me?”
“I’m sure she didn’t,” Tyler said. “You’re mean to her.”
“I am not!” Aileen protested. “Not since the first time I rode with you. And that wasn’t really mean. Just… teasing.” She smiled at him as she said it. “And I said that I was sorry.”
Tyler shook his head. “I’m pretty sure that you called her old again after that.”
“And then you let me drive her. So I think she likes me just fine.”
She was rewarded with a low chuckle from Tyler. “Fine. She likes you.” He took his eyes from the road for just long enough to glance over at her. “Not as much as I do, though.”
“Going to sweet-talk me in hopes of getting in my pants?” Aileen asked.
“Pretty much,” Tyler answered, grinning at the road ahead of him.
They pulled up to the house that Aileen shared with Jani, and he turned the key in the ignition. The rumble of the 1980 Mustang Cobra fell silent. Tyler stepped out of the car and came around to open Aileen’s door for her, offering her his hand to pull her to her feet.
“This is your place, I think,” he said, like he hadn’t been sneaking around to her back window for months.
“It is.” She laid a hand on his shoulder as he started to move back around the car, and he paused, turning to look at her. “Would you like to stay?”
A smile spread across his face.
“So,” Aileen said as they stepped into the house. Jani wasn’t home yet and it was quiet, the smell of food drifting from the kitchen. “I’ve got stuff for chicken tacos in the crockpot, if you want?”
Tyler’s stomach rumbled, and she laughed.
“I guess that answers that question, then.”
She directed Tyler to the cabinets, and he took out plates for them while she got out the toppings for the tacos and then they both filled their plates and sat down at the table.
“Are you ready to make the switch from football to track?” Aileen asked, swallowing a mouthful of food before she spoke.
Tyler looked up from the taco he was shoving entirely too much of into his mouth at once. He finished his bite. “This is actually the first time that I haven’t done both. So it’s a little strange coming into track from not being in it for months. But I think it’ll all be good.”
Taking another bite, Aileen nodded. Half her attention was already on the upcoming weekend and the race that would come with it. She still had a lot of training to do before then, but at least Coach Anderson seemed confident. But he always seemed confident. It was like he thought she could do no wrong, despite the fact that she was only a freshman. Yeah, she’d had a great race in Poland, but what if that had been a fluke?
“Anyway,” Tyler said. “It’s not like football’s entirely over. I’ve got the draft coming up in a couple weeks, so I’ve got to be ready for that.”
Aileen, only half-listening, nodded again. “You’re ready for the meet next week, then?”
He frowned, obviously hearing the nerves in her voice. “Are you worried about it?”
“Not any more than I ever am, I guess,” Aileen said. “I just always get jitters coming up on a meet. I hate to lose, you know.”
“You don’t have anything to worry about. Everyone else is worried about
you.
”
Aileen looked across the table at him, waiting for a grin that would say he was joking, but it was obvious from his expression that he meant what he’d said. “You really think so?”
He smiled. “Let me tell you a little bit about this girl I know.”
“Oh?” Aileen raised an eyebrow at him. “And what girl is that?”
“Well, she’s a hurdler. And she’s got the most gorgeous body.” He looked her slowly up and down as he said it, and when his gaze lifted to her face he was smiling, slow and lazy. “Also, she’s blonde. And I really like that. Plus, she’s a killer on the track. One of the fastest runners in the world at the hundred meter hurdles, and she won the World Juniors last year.”
Aileen couldn’t quite keep herself from laughing. “She sounds like a real catch.”
“Oh, believe me. She is.” He grinned at her.
“I think you’re still just trying to get in my pants,” Aileen accused.
“Guilty as charged,” Tyler admitted. He pitched his voice low. “So I suggest you eat your dinner quickly.”
Heat sparked in Aileen’s belly. That was what she wanted. What she’d been waiting for all day. She ate faster.