The Determined Groom: Texas Titan Romances Read online

  They all left the pool area together after they tired of water polo. Cambree caught Emmett’s eye, and he mouthed, “Hot tub?” and gestured with his head.

  She smiled and nodded. Her self-control had been all used up working so hard physically, and she didn’t know how to tell Emmett no. She walked with the group toward her cabin and said her goodnights. Dropping off her swimsuit cover-up inside, she drained a water bottle, giving the group a little time to each get to their own cabins. She wanted Emmett all to herself, no matter how unwise it was.

  When she walked out of her cabin door, she was only wearing her swimsuit flip-flops. She felt daring, like she was sneaking off to meet a boy without her mama’s permission. She laughed at herself. She was a full-grown adult and her mama would love Emmett … but then again, her mama had loved Nolan, up until he’d humiliated and dumped Cambree.

  She passed Lucy’s cabin and could hear voices and laughter inside. She wouldn’t put it past Lucy to have smuggled treats into the camp. The food was so good here, though, and they even had fruit, sorbet, and some dark chocolate for dessert. Cambree didn’t need any extra treats. Being with Emmett in the hot tub sounded delicious enough for her.

  She had passed two more cabins when a hand suddenly clamped over her mouth and she was dragged behind the last cabin and shoved against the exterior wall. Her heart pounded in her ears as the wood of the cabin wall scratched against her bare back.

  The light from the cabins illuminated Troy’s face. His eyes were stormy and not completely clear. His breath smelled like alcohol. “Beautiful Cambree. Britney was a lot of fun last night, definitely more my type, but I wanted to see why Emmett Hawk is so drawn to you. Don’t get me wrong, you’re hot, but white trash isn’t usually what I’m into.”

  He had one of her arms pinned, but Cambree was able to hit at him with her free hand. She tried to wrench her mouth free so she could scream for help and then tell him where to go.

  “You can fight if you want to.” He grinned. “Even the ones who fight love what I have for them.”

  Gross. Cambree pushed against his shoulders with her hand and squirmed to free herself, but he wasn’t budging. He pulled his hand away from her face and bent to kiss her. She spit in his face and brought her knee up quick. Troy groaned, and she was able to shove him away and dodge out from under his arm. He dove at her, tackling her into the grass. Cambree screamed.

  Troy forcefully rolled her over and glared down at her. He yanked her swimsuit off her shoulder, and Cambree cried out when his rough hands pressed over her tender skin.

  “Stop, Troy!” she cried. “You’ll be thrown in the pen for this.”

  Ice formed in the pit of her stomach as he stared at her like he didn’t even care what repercussions would come his way. “Nobody’s going to believe you didn’t want this.”

  “Help!” she screamed, terror making her hair stand on end.

  Cambree heard footsteps pounding their direction, and her heart lifted with hope. Please let it be someone who can help. Troy straightened up, still sitting on her and pushing her into the hard ground with his body weight.

  An arm shot into her line of vision and roughly lifted Troy off of her. Scrambling to her feet and pulling her swimsuit back on, she watched as Emmett slammed Troy into the cabin wall, then released him and hit him several times in the face and gut. The taut, striated muscles in Emmett’s back and arms worked in synchrony to protect her from Troy.

  Troy cowered and begged, “Stop, man! What the freak?”

  “You tell me, Troy,” growled Emmett, grabbing Troy’s shirt with both hands. “What the freak?”

  “It’s cool. Just having a little fun. Every girl wants a piece of a football star.” Troy’s bloody mouth twitched in a half grin. “I know you know what I’m talking about.”

  “You’re disgusting,” spat Emmett. “Prison’s too good for scum like you.”

  “No!” Troy’s cry of anguish was pitiful. “I’ll never play in the NFL. Please.”

  Emmett grunted out a disgusted laugh. “You just assaulted Cambree. You think I care about your NFL hopes?”

  Troy glared at Cambree. “I should’ve stuck to the supermodels, not wasted my time with trash.”

  Cambree flinched. Troy was a scum-ball, but what if some part of Emmett agreed with him?

  Emmett gripped Troy with one hand and slammed his fist into his gut with the other. Troy hollered out and dropped to the ground. Emmett bent down close. “You’re the trash.”

  Troy only wheezed in reply.

  “Stay down,” Emmett growled. He looked glorious and intimidating, standing over Troy with his bare chest trembling with restrained rage. “Unless you want to get thrashed.”

  Troy didn’t move.

  Emmett yanked his phone out. “Beau,” he barked. “Get the police here and come out to the open area now.”

  Cambree adjusted her swimsuit, making sure it covered her fully, and backed up a few steps, not wanting to be anywhere near Troy. Truthfully, Emmett was a little bit scary right now too.

  Emmett glanced at her, and his rigid face and body softened. “You okay?”

  She nodded quickly, biting at her cheek to keep the tears from coming. She’d had unwanted attention before, but no one had ever grabbed her like that. It had never been more than verbal innuendos.

  Beau ran up to them and took in the scene quickly. Jacob was right on his heels. Emmett dragged Troy up off the ground and toward Beau, thrusting the younger man at him. “Take him into my office and we’ll meet with the police. He’ll be well-behaved because he doesn’t want this to go any worse for him, right, Troy?”

  Troy nodded, not looking at any of them. He stalked toward the main building with Beau and Jacob right on his heels.

  Emmett turned to Cambree. All the fire she’d seen in him when he was pummeling Troy disappeared. “Ah, Cam.” He opened his arms to her.

  Cambree gave a little sigh of relief and went right into his arms. The nickname he’d just used was so tender that she wondered if he was falling for her as hard and fast as she was for him. He smelled like chlorine and salt from the swimming pool, and she was all too aware of him in nothing but his swim trunks. She shuddered and clung to his bare back, kneading her fingers into the glorious muscle there. Muscle that had just protected her from Troy. No one had ever protected her like that, and right now he was a bastion of strength and safety.

  Emmett groaned. “What did he do to you, sweetheart?”

  Cambree swallowed and forced herself to meet his gaze and be strong. “He grabbed me and pushed me up into the cabin wall. I kneed him and almost got away, but then he tackled me and tried to—he touched me—” She shook her head, her stomach churning. “Then you came. Thank you.”

  He nodded, much too somber and worried about her.

  “I’m okay,” she said, but anyone could read through her tone of voice—she definitely wasn’t okay. She forced herself to pull away from his embrace, though it was the last thing she ever wanted to do, and gnawed at her lip. “I want to go shower.” Emmett’s arms had replaced the filthy feeling of being pawed at by Troy, but she wanted to just shower it all away and hopefully go to sleep. Would she be able to sleep remembering being held against her will and the fear that she couldn’t get away? Troy had been so strong, and she hated that he’d touched her.

  “You’ll probably have to talk to the police first,” Emmett gently reminded her.

  Cambree wrapped her arms around herself, chilled even though it was a warm summer night.

  “The police might take a minute, though. We’re not exactly close to town. Shall we go grab your swimsuit cover-up and then get you a hot cocoa or cup of coffee while we wait?” Emmett asked.

  “You have cocoa at the elitist fitness camp?” She tried to smile, but it fell flat.

  “Oh yes, ma’am. This is a five-star resort when it’s not a fitness camp; we have all manner of illegal contraband like hot cocoa.” He held out his hand and Cambree loved how nonthreatening
and kind this huge man could be. She was sure Troy would never describe him as nonthreatening, but Emmett was one of those good old boys who would never hurt a woman. Cambree could easily sense that. The fact that he knew she’d want to cover up before the police came made her feel like they were much closer than they actually were.

  She placed her hand in his, and the comfort of his large hand around hers sent warmth up her arm. They fell into step together and Emmett walked her to her cabin, where she hurriedly threw her cover-up on, and then he escorted her around the side of the huge wraparound porch to the kitchen and dining area.

  “You have very … large hands.” She’d wanted to say nice or perfect, but things were already getting far too intimate with him protecting her.

  He chuckled. “Wide receivers need to be fast and have good hands.”

  She glanced askance at him. “Good hands. Yes, you definitely do.”

  He pulled the door open and held it for her. Cambree let him lead her inside and make her a cup of cocoa, which she had trouble getting down before the police came. She wished she would’ve been able to give him a kiss of gratitude or ask him to hold her close with those good hands of hers, but after being grabbed by Troy, nothing felt right and she just wanted this night to be over.

  Chapter Six

  Emmett noticed from the moment Cambree walked out of her cabin, and as they went on their morning run with the group, that she had not recovered from last night. Who could blame her? The only way he could relate was remembering being a young child and Callum or Creed would pin him down and laugh at him, but he knew they had no evil intent. His brothers were competitive, tough, and intense, but none of them were deliberately hurtful. He could remember lots of wrestling growing up and sometimes all-out brawls, but if somebody cried uncle, the other brother would let them go. Cambree had cried for help and for Troy to stop, and he’d hurt her physically and emotionally.

  He’d overheard Troy tell the police that he just wanted a piece of the “sweet action” that Emmett Hawk was getting. Nothing Troy said should bother him, but he’d seen the way Troy had leered at Cambree the past two days, and he knew Troy was one of those guys who wanted to prove he was better than Emmett. It made sense he would go after the woman Emmett was obviously interested in. That made him feel like the attack was Emmett’s fault, and he couldn’t stomach that. How could he protect Cambree and make the nightmare from last night go away?

  They finished their run and broke off in pairs to workout. Even Lucy had been quiet on their run, and no one asked where Troy and Jacob had disappeared to. Emmett had given Jacob a paid week off since his client was gone. This adult fitness camp idea was worse than a flop. The youth camps were a lot more work, but not emotionally challenging like this. Emmett had more youth camps scheduled through the summer, and they were all booked with waiting lists. Maybe he should just focus on youth, but what would be his excuse come fall about not playing football?

  He started Cambree out with some light weight lifting, focusing on a lot of pull-ups and lifts that imitated climbing and holding and moving her own body weight. After a couple of hours, he gave her a break for a snack and sports drink. They hadn’t talked much, and he didn’t know what to say to her now. Sorry Troy is a jerk and tried to assault you? He didn’t know how to empathize, but he hoped his sympathy was perceived as genuine. Troy would face attempted rape charges, and he deserved the stiffest sentence in Emmett’s mind.

  After the snack, they went outside and trained on the obstacle course he’d had made for her. Yesterday afternoon he’d had them add another climbing wall that was smooth with no handholds.

  Cambree tried to climb up the smooth wall but missed her handhold at the top and slipped back down.

  “It’s okay, you got this,” Emmett encouraged.

  She didn’t look at him and tried the wall again, with not much better results. Emmett didn’t know if he should encourage or instruct, but he’d Googled her and seen her do this very obstacle in the middle of a race when she was already exhausted and she’d conquered it then.

  “You okay?” he asked tentatively.

  “No, I’m not okay,” she threw back at him. “And stop being so stinking nice!”

  Emmett reared back. “I’m sorry?”

  “No, you can’t be sorry.” She paced in front of him. “Yell at me. Make me do burpees. Make me do sprints. But don’t treat me like I’m a china doll!” She rounded on him. “Do you realize you haven’t made me do burpees or sprints all day today?”

  “Well, I …” There was no excuse. He was going easier on her today, but what was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to act?

  She shook her head. “No, it’s not you, it’s me. I’m a crackpot mess.” She went back to pacing.

  “Anyone would be, being attacked like that.”

  She pursed her lips together. “I realize I’m a simple girl, but I always believe the best of everybody. My mama says it’s my gift.” She choked on a sob and Emmett wanted to pull her into his arms, but he didn’t know if that was the right move at the moment. He wanted to gush about how great she was. She was not a simple girl. She was the most intriguing woman he’d ever met.

  “It’s an amazing gift,” he said quietly. “I’ve noticed that you’re kind to everyone, even Britney.”

  “I’m sure Britney has a reason for acting the way she does, but Troy ...” She stopped pacing and bit at her lip. “How could that scum-ball think he had the right to … ugh, I don’t even want to think about it!”

  Emmett waited a beat, then admitted, “I don’t know how he could treat you like that.” He really didn’t. He’d been raised to respect others and his mom would never have tolerated any kind of behavior like that, especially toward a woman.

  “You know what?” Cambree’s eyes flashed fire and determination at him. “I won’t let that idiot win.”

  He lowered his chin, not sure what she meant.

  “I am not a victim. I’m tough mentally and physically. I will not allow Troy to get in my head and make me scared and make me feel weak. I won’t do it.”

  Emmett blinked at her. She was exceptional. “You are the toughest person I have ever met.”

  Cambree’s fierce stance softened. She stared at him for several seconds, then finally cracked a smile. “Now I know that’s a heap of baloney. You philander with the best athletes in the world, and your own brother is an awesome Navy SEAL.”

  Emmett returned the smile. “I stand by what I said. Toughest. Person. Ever.”

  “Thanks, Emmett.” She smiled almost shyly, and then her face shifted again. “Enough of this wasting time.” With a warrior-type yell, she ran and vaulted herself up the wall.

  “That’s my girl!” Emmett hollered, punching both fists in the air.

  She slid back down and he met her, wanting to lift her off her feet and swing her around, but she put out her hand for a high-five. He slapped her hand, willing to give her distance if that’s what she needed.

  “What next, Hawk?” she drawled.

  He was falling so hard for her. “Sprint to the lake,” he barked out.

  She laughed and then took off like a rocket. Emmett chased after her.

  When they hit the lake, he commanded, “Drop and army crawl through the shallow water.”

  “Yes!” Cambree did a cute little cheerleader jump, then quickly obeyed.

  “That’s my girl.”

  She grinned up at him, splashing through the water.

  Cambree had her fire back. Emmett couldn’t have been more relieved. She was as impressive as anyone he’d ever met. Then a cold weight settled in his stomach. Would this tough woman think less of him for hiding the extent of his injury and forced retirement from the world? She was inspiring and didn’t seem to care what anyone thought, and here he had to toe the line with social niceties. Emmett watched this beautiful, impressive woman scurry through the shallow water on all fours. He’d reveal the truth to the world right here and now and deal with any repercussions on
him and his family—if it would give him a chance with Cambree.

  * * *

  Cambree couldn’t believe how different she felt tonight as opposed to last night. She’d struggled sleeping and spent a lot of time praying the night before. The Lord had answered her prayers today, showing her that she was strong and she wasn’t destined to live her life in fear. Nolan had torn her confidence apart, made her doubt herself and her value. Warrior races and her faith had helped her recover, but sometimes she still felt like the piece of trash he’d told her she was. Troy attacking her and the ugly things he’d said had made her feel even lower.

  She shook that off and remembered how great Emmett had been today. She’d loved the time spent pushing her body and proving that she was tough, but most of all, she loved being with Emmett. Still, what if Emmett wasn’t any different than Nolan? Her gift of looking for the best in people told her that not every rich guy would dump her like yesterday’s garbage when they realized she wasn’t cut out for interacting with the rich and famous. Yet did she ever want to put herself in that position again? She’d be very careful walking around in the dark alone and without pepper spray or some kind of weapon after Troy’s attack.

  Was she willingly putting herself in a position to be emotionally hurt if she trusted Emmett? She rolled her eyes. It wasn’t like Emmett had even asked her out or tried to kiss her or anything. Maybe this was the way he treated all the women he trained. That thought made her mad as a wolverine backed into a corner.

  She’d just gotten out of the shower after swimming and thrown on a tank top and some cotton shorts. She wished she could’ve soaked in the hot tub with Emmett and chatted after the long, hard day, but Britney had cornered him and eventually Cambree had left to shower and get some rest. She needed it after last night. Today had been taxing emotionally and physically, even with the empowerment of knowing she wasn’t going to allow herself to be a victim. Now if she could get past Nolan’s degradation. It had only been two months, so she tried to be patient with herself.