Jack’s ambition knew no boundaries if he’d go to these lengths to convince Laura to confide in him. And Amanda could do nothing to ward off this disaster. Relations between her and Laura had been strained ever since she’d suggested Laura dump Tony and find someone else. Why hadn’t Amanda kept her mouth shut? She could have put up with Laura’s obsessing.
I did this, she thought, as she grabbed the phone and asked for Tony’s room. Her recent story about the steroids issue had hit the stands, no doubt applying performance pressure on Jack. Kevin had been on top of the world, since his source claimed Jack was feeling the heat.
After several rings a sleepy-sounding Tony answered.
“Tony. It’s Amanda. What room are you in?”
“1050. Why?”
“We need to talk.”
“I’m asleep,” he complained.
“Grab today’s paper and check out the entertainment page. You need to see me. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Exactly twenty minutes later, Amanda was knocking on Tony’s door. She’d tossed on some clothes and done the minimum to look presentable. Before leaving her room she’d tried phoning Laura’s cell but had only gotten through to voice mail.
No answer. A door farther down the hallway opened and Brad appeared. Amanda’s heart fell to her feet. He stared and blinked, as if he thought he was seeing a ghost.
Finally, Tony answered and Amanda moved forward, eager to avoid Brad. Days had passed since they’d spoken, and now was not the time to get reunited.
The minute Amanda entered the hotel room Tony started to rant in a mix of Italian and English. He wore jeans and nothing else. “I’m screwed. Laura—”
Amanda’s gaze went to the bed, where a woman lay naked but for a well-placed sheet. She waved at Amanda.
“Holy shit, Tony!” Amanda cut her hands in the air. “Why is she here?”
“She doesn’t have a ride.”
“Get her a cab.”
“Hey,” the woman protested. “Who do you think you are?”
Amanda answered the woman but spoke to Tony. “I’m the one who can save your ass. Meet me in the café downstairs in five minutes.” She paused. “Alone.”
Before Amanda could leave a knock sounded on the door. “Great. Just what we need. More company.”
Tony frowned and moved to the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s Brad, Tony. Let me in.”
Tony yanked open the door before Amanda could say anything. Wasn’t this a cozy ensemble—a naked woman, an angry Italian and the man who knew all of her sweet spots but no longer wanted to use them. This was hell.
Brad stepped toward Amanda, his expression grim. “What are you doing in Tony’s room?”
“What business is it of yours, Brad?” she demanded, furious he had the gall to question her when he’d ignored her for all this time.
“I happen to know how important your job is to you. Do you know how this looks?”
Amanda let out a bark of harsh laughter. “You found us out, Brad. Me, Tony and Alice have a hot thing going on.”
“My name isn’t Alice.”
“Sweetheart, I don’t care what your name is,” Amanda said.
Brad swore. “What the hell, Amanda?”
“Don’t curse at me!”
“I don’t know what this is all about and frankly, I don’t care.” Tony raised his voice. “I’m having a freaking crisis here. Can we get back to me?”
Amanda glared at Tony. “Meet me in the café in an hour.”
“I thought you said five minutes. I need to talk now.”
“I changed my mind. I’m going to take a shower and call Laura. I suggest you do a little housecleaning.”
Tony seemed as though he wanted to argue but refrained. “Fine.”
Brad grabbed Amanda’s arm as she turned to leave. “Amanda.”
“Let go.”
He did as she requested, but was on her heels when she stepped into the hallway. She started for the elevator when he attempted to redirect her toward his room.
She dug in her heels. “No.”
The elevator opened and a room service attendant stepped out. Brad glanced at the man and let go of Amanda. She darted away, but he followed her into the elevator. She hit the lobby level, afraid to go to her room because of what she might do if alone with Brad.
Silence filled the car.
“I missed you,” he said softly.
She didn’t look at him. Didn’t dare. “You have a funny way of showing it.”
“We need to talk.”
Not a chance.
She whirled around to face him. “We had a fling. It’s over. End of subject. Or it would have been if you hadn’t blasted your way into Tony’s room. How do you suggest we explain your territorial he-man routine? Because you just royally screwed me.” She paused. “Again.”
His face flashed with surprise as the doors opened. Amanda rushed forward, desperate to get away from him. She managed all of a few steps before Brad crowded her with his larger body, dictating where she went. She could either go along with him or bring attention to herself, a fact he no doubt counted on. Suddenly, Brad yanked her into a tiny handicapped bathroom.
“What do you think you are doing?” she demanded as he locked the door.
In one swift move, he picked her up, set her on top of the counter, and pressed her legs apart. He stepped between them as if he had that right. “Do you know how furious I was when I saw you go into Tony’s room?”
She wasn’t a toy to be played with. “You have no say over what I do or who I do it with.”
“What if I said I want to? What if I said I care about everything you do?”
She felt her lips tremble despite her efforts to act unaffected. “I’d say you have a funny way of showing it. Not that it matters. I can’t keep doing this with you, Brad. I can’t.”
He tilted his head forward and inhaled. “I love how you smell.”
Amanda’s hands curled against the counter to keep from touching him. She didn’t want to fall under his spell again.
“No more, Brad.”
Their eyes locked and his burned with heat. His thumbs slid back and forth on her cheeks, the callused tips sending a rush of sensation through her entire body. “I missed you, Amanda.”
She wanted to believe him but she didn’t dare. When she didn’t respond, he added, “Tell me you missed me, too,”
“We both know we can’t do this.”
“We can.”
Amanda squeezed her eyes shut. “No.” The word was barely audible.
His lips hovered above hers, his breath warm and tantalizing as he responded. “Yes.” His mouth brushed hers. “Yes.”
Then they were kissing. A slow, sensual slide of tongues that seduced, taking Amanda beyond reason. In only a few moments, the gentle, sensual kiss transformed into something hot and wildly passionate. Brad’s hands were everywhere, molding her to him, as she wrapped her legs around his waist. His touch, his mouth, his body, demanded her participation and she gave it freely, no longer willing to fight. No man set her on fire this way.
His palms skimmed her skirt upward, caressing her bare legs. While their tongues tangled, tasted, devoured, his fingers eased past her silk thong.
She gasped as he slid two fingers along her sensitive flesh, spreading the proof of her arousal and teasing her clit with excruciating perfection. Instinct and need pressed her onward, and Amanda reached for his pants, releasing his erection and circling the width with her hand, guiding him to where she ached for completion. Moments later, he was inside her, filling her, completing her in a way she didn’t remember sex ever doing.
Brad tore his mouth from hers and for several seconds their eyes locked. The connection to him she felt shook her to the core. And when he slowly lowered his head to claim her mouth again, she melted, lost in the stroke of his tongue, in the feel of his hard body buried deep in hers, seducing her with ease. With perfection.
Somehow, her sh
irt was gone, tossed aside, the front clasp of her bra unlatched. Brad’s hands were on her breasts, molding and kneading, his teeth nipping her bottom lip, tongue following the action, soothing.
“You drive me insane with need,” he murmured before kissing her again, his cock doing a slow sensual slide back and forth, his fingers plucking at her nipples.
He pressed her hands to her breasts. “Touch yourself like I was,” he said, straightening, hands going to her hips, anchoring her as he began to pump.
She did as he said, filling her hands with her breasts, aroused by the heat in his eyes as she teased her nipples. Aroused as she watched the flex of muscle in his powerful arms, wishing he was naked. She wanted him naked.
She reached for his shirt, moving her hands beneath the material. She clung to him anywhere, everywhere, never managing to get his shirt off. Never managing to get enough of him. Of his touch, his mouth, his hands.
Her hips rocked against his, the rise of release starting to rush through her body. “Brad. I am…” But the words were gone as she felt the first ripple of orgasm expand. Her muscles grab his cock, pulling him deeper, taking him in. When he pulled back, preparing to thrust, she wanted to scream for his return. And when he dove deep, burying himself to the hilt, shaking with his own release, she sighed with the final, perfect spasms of orgasm.
Long moments later, he lifted his head from where he’d rested it on her shoulder and brushed his lips over hers, tenderness in his expression. Amanda’s chest tightened with the emotion she felt. She loved him.
And that scared the hell out of her.
Carefully, Brad eased her legs down, her feet to the ground. Feeling awkward, uncertain of what came next, or even what she expected or wanted, Amanda gave him her back. She dressed quickly, quiet anticipation charging the air.
When Amanda completed her task, Brad embraced her. “Amanda—”
Her cell phone rang and she said a silent thank-you. She was afraid to hear what he had to say. “It could be Laura. I have to take it.” She reached for her purse sitting in the center of the sink and pulled out her cell.
Amanda answered. “Laura. Hi. Hold on.” She covered the phone, and spoke to Brad. “I have to get out of here.”
“We need to talk.”
No, they didn’t. “Not here. Not now.”
“We’re going to talk, Amanda. Soon. Have no doubt. I’ll wait for you in the café.” He disappeared out the door.
Amanda let out a breath and then took the call. “Hi, Laura. Thanks for calling me back.”
No tears this time. “You saw the paper, I guess?” Laura asked. Her voice was tight. “I’m going to make that sorry jerk pay. I’m going to tell the world his secrets and then he can kiss his career goodbye.”
Exactly what Amanda expected. “What secret, Laura?”
“Steroids,” she said. “That’s how he gets all those great hits. He’s juicing. I know you wanted the story and I’m sorry. Jack called and told me about the paper and I was pretty upset. I told him everything. I can tell you, too. The more bad press Tony gets, the better.”
Telling Laura Jack had set up Tony wasn’t likely to help. “Do you have proof, Laura?”
“I saw him inject himself. If they test him, they’ll know.”
“How do you know it was steroids?”
“What else would it be?”
Amanda went down a short list of possible things, including vitamin supplements.
“Well, it’s not any of those things,” Laura said, rejecting Amanda’s suggestions. “It’s steroids. Test him.”
“You don’t know any of this with certainty and you’re putting the man’s career on the line.”
“He should have thought of that before he did what he did.”
“The entire team is affected by this kind of scandal, Laura. They’re in the playoffs. They need Tony on the field.”
“I guess the team will find out what a jerk he is, too.”
Several minutes later, Amanda hung up the phone, having gotten nowhere except frustrated with Laura. She leaned on the bathroom sink, surveying her image in the mirror and noting her swollen lips.
Why had she let that happen with Brad? Why? She couldn’t think about that now. She had to think about Tony. And though she didn’t agree with Tony doing steroids—if he really was—she understood the desperate need to stay competitive.
This new career of hers had placed her in a horrible position. She hated the idea of destroying someone for a story. How had her job become that? Jack Krass, Tony, Laura. The battle to get the story first, no matter who was destroyed. This wasn’t her way. But before she could even think about that big issue, she had to deal with the current crisis.
22
“SHE TALKED to Laura?” Tony asked. He sat across from Brad in the café.
Brad regarded Tony, thinking about how furious he’d been when he’d seen Amanda entering his room. “Yeah. She talked to her. I have no idea of the outcome, though.”
“Where is she?” Tony asked, his tone impatient.
“She’ll be here.”
Tony drummed his fingers on the table and waved away a waitress. “What’s up with you two?”
“Nothing. And that’s the story I expect you to stick to.”
“Just asking, man. Trust me, I won’t be running my mouth. Amanda’s the last person I want to piss off right now.” He narrowed his eyes on Brad. “But I have to say. I’ve never seen you act so nuts over a woman.”
Brad could well imagine his behavior had taken Tony off guard. Hell, his lack of control took him off guard, too. His gaze went to the doorway, feeling the familiar punch of excitement in his gut at the sight of her. “She’s here.”
He watched her approach, noting the apprehension in her face. He wished he wasn’t partly responsible for it.
Amanda sat between him and Tony. One of her perfect ivory cheeks had been rubbed red from his stubble. Sensual images of being buried deep inside her, the warm, wet heat of her body surrounding him, played in his mind. Primitive, possessive feelings rushed over him.
He’d fallen in love with Amanda.
What else could explain the way his heart beat faster every time she was near? Or the way he felt calmer, happier, more complete, when he was with her.
Man, did his timing suck.
“Unfortunately, Jack got to Laura before I did. Frankly, I think he set you up. I heard him at the airport, talking to Laura, promising he’d prove you were a jerk. Laura said Jack called her this morning to tell her about the picture, otherwise she wouldn’t have known.”
“That sorry bastard.” Tony ground out the words between his teeth. “He’s the one who invited us to the club where that picture was taken. I didn’t think anything about it. He’s always inviting us places. But come to think about it, that night he hung by my side a lot. Every time I turned around, he was there.”
“The details of how we got here aren’t that important right now,” Brad commented. “The damage is done. How bad is the damage?”
Amanda exhaled. “First, let me say this, Tony. I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m only repeating what I’ve been told.”
“Just tell me.”
“Laura says you’re taking steroids and she gave Jack the details. She says she witnessed you inject yourself.”
Tony stared at Amanda, his expression blank. He didn’t say a word.
That was a bad sign, Brad thought. “It’s just her word against his, right?” he asked. “Or is there more?”
“It’s enough to raise concerns and taint Tony’s image,” Amanda noted. “Jack isn’t a fool. He’ll make sure he doesn’t say with certainty that Tony is juicing. He’ll buzz the possibility.”
“Which will ruin me,” Tony said quietly. “Guilty or innocent, people won’t look at me the same.”
“Are you guilty?” Brad asked.
Tony looked at Amanda and Brad knew he was nervous about talking in front of her. “You can trust her,” Brad said. “It’
s off the record. Right Amanda?”
“Absolutely.”
Tony appeared skeptical. Brad figured the best way to convince Tony was to confess his own secret. “I’m injured and I’ve been hiding it. Amanda’s known all along. Obviously, she hasn’t turned me into a headline.
“I need surgery. Good news is I can work through the playoffs. But between the injury and all the bad press this past year, my contract renewal is up in the air. I’m praying my performance is good enough to convince management to re-sign me. Either way, I’m tired of hiding.”
Brad focused on Amanda with those final words, hoping she’d read the double meaning. There had to be a way they could be together without compromising their careers.
Of course, if she was his wife, no one could protest. His wife. What a crazy thought. But he actually contemplated the idea. He may have known her only a short time, but he couldn’t imagine another day without her.
Tony cleared his throat, drawing the attention back to him. “I’m clean.”
Amanda gave him a probing stare, as if she didn’t quite believe him. “Why is Laura so sure you aren’t?”
“Off the record.” He waited for her nod before continuing. “I’m clean now. There was a time when I couldn’t say that.”
Brad cursed. “Damn it, Tony. You know what I think of that shit.”
“Well, Brad, not everyone is as confident as you. Not everyone can be a star without a little help.”
“Man, in case you forgot, I’ve been dodging my walking papers for a year. You just heard me admit I’ve been hiding an injury. Confidence damn sure wasn’t my motivation. The pressure gets to all of us.”
“You’re injured and you still manage to throw hundred-mile-an-hour balls when other guys never break three digits,” Tony stated, his words almost accusing. “Don’t judge me, man. You’re not like me. You didn’t struggle to get here. We both know you were a star from Little League to the pros. I didn’t even get off the bench until my senior year in college. But I told you. I’m done with that shit. I’m clean.”
Hard and Fast Page 18
