Hard Ball (Stadium Series Book 1)

by S A Clayton

  “I’m on the pill,” I say before I overthink this. In the years I was with Cole, I never went without one, but with Josh, the idea of feeling him bare inside me has to be hotter than anything else.

  “Are you sure?” he asks and I nod, smiling sweetly. He nods back, his fingers finding my clit and circling it lightly, causing my eyes to close as he kisses me gently. “Open your eyes, sweetheart. I want to see your eyes when I fuck you.”

  I do as he asks and when our eyes lock, he surges into me, causing my mouth to open on a silent scream. My eyes close just as he seats himself inside me completely, stopping as he starts to breathe heavily.

  “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” he chants, his fingers gripping my hips harder and harder the longer he stays still. “How am I supposed to leave this pussy alone when it feels like pure heaven? How am I supposed to play baseball when all I’ll be able to think about is being inside you all the fucking time?” His words send pure pleasure to my core and my pussy contracts, causing him to shudder.

  “Josh, you need to move. Please,” I whisper, my hips lifting in hopes that it gets him moving, and it does. Josh slowly moves out, causing a guttural moan to leave both of us, and it’s not until he surges back in at a punishing pace that I lose myself completely. He fucks me like it’s his job and I’m just along for the ride.

  “That’s it, Sunshine, squeeze me, I want to feel you come all over my cock.” His dirty talk has me chasing the orgasm before I’m ready, I want this to last but the more his hips drive into me, the closer and closer I get.

  “Fuck,” I groan as my head digs into the mattress beneath me, my fingers gripping his back as my back arches and I feel that familiar heat pool in my core.

  “That’s it, Harper. Come for me so I can come all over your tits the way I’ve been dreaming about since I met you.”

  That does it. That image of him stroking himself until he comes all over my body sends me barreling over the edge and I scream into the room, my pussy squeezing his cock, causing Josh to shudder. Just as I come down from the high, Josh pulls out and a few strokes later his cum lands all over my chest and stomach and we’re left there, each breathing heavy.

  “You are way too good at that,” I admit, loving the satisfied smile that crosses his face. “Don’t look so cocky.”

  He laughs, bending down and kissing me lightly as he stands and heads toward the bathroom and I hear the water running. When he comes back into the room, he cleans me up as his eyes continue to devour my body.

  “I think after that, we both deserve to be a little cocky. You are magnificent.” His kiss is gentle and when he’s done cleaning me off, he lies back down and pulls me to his side. “Can you stay the night?” he asks, and I nod against his chest, my arm settling over his stomach as my eyes grow heavy. “Good night, Sunshine,” he whispers against my temple.

  “Good night, Josh.”

  When I was with Cole, we would sleep on separate sides of the bed. He hated cuddling, he was always too hot, too uncomfortable, and uninterested in the fact that I loved it. So, when I wake up and find myself wrapped around Josh like an octopus, I can’t help but smile.

  From the steady beat of his heart and the shallowness of his breathing I know he’s still asleep, so I peer up at his face and sigh, loving and hating the butterflies that haven’t left my stomach since I pulled that dart out of his arm. I haven’t felt this way since Cole and I first got together and honestly, I’ve missed it. I missed looking at my phone every five minutes, wondering if he’s called or texted. I miss that sensation of my heart stopping whenever he looks at me like I’m the only person in the room and if I’m honest, I miss how fucking amazing sex is again.

  “You thinking about running, Sunshine?” His voice is hoarse from sleep and when our eyes meet, his gaze tired but steady, he smiles.

  “Just making sure you’re real,” I admit before thinking better of it. I shut my eyes and silently curse at my inability to keep those thoughts to myself, but Josh just laughs, his chest rumbling as my head rests over his heart.

  “I’m very real. I promise.” He takes the hand that’s resting against his chest and intertwines our fingers and brings them to his mouth where he kisses each one softly. “You realize you’re mine now, right?” he rumbles against me, my head lifting off his chest as a smirk plays on the edges of his lips.

  “Is that right?” I rest my chin on my other hand as his plays with a loose strand of my hair.

  “Yup, after last night, you sealed it. There is no way I can walk away from you… you’re stuck with me.” He winks before kissing my fingers one more time.

  “I guess you’re not a bad guy to be stuck with…” I tease before he hauls me on top of him and I straddle his lap. It’s not lost on me the way his hardness thickens the longer I sit here, and when I grind harder down onto his cock, that is now at full attention, he groans.

  “Sweetheart, you’re testing my resolve here,” he admits, his fingers digging into my hips, stopping my movement. “I’m holding on by a thread.”

  I tilt my head, questioning why he’s holding back when one of his hands travels up my stomach, softly caressing my skin as he stops right between my bare breasts.

  “Why do you need restraint?” I pant, trying, but failing, to rock my hips and get some kind of pressure against my clit. I don’t know what happened between last night and this morning. I’m addicted to him. I’m addicted to the way he makes me feel inside this room, and right now I want more of it before we have to leave and go back to the reality of our lives.

  “I took you three times last night.”

  I nod my head, my eyes still closed as I take the hand that is still resting between my breasts and move it so it’s cupping one of them. He squeezes, growling at the way my body moves when he does.

  “And?” It’s a fair question. Have I ever had this much sex in a twelve-hour period? No, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take it. The dull ache between my thighs has turned into a raw need to have him one more time.

  “Sunshine, I don’t want to hurt you.”

  My eyes lock with his, my gaze softening as I lean forward and place a soft kiss on his lips.

  “As much as I love this Captain America thing you’ve got going on right now, and I really do, I need you to listen to me right now.” I take both of his hands and place them above his head as my lips trail up the side of his neck.

  “Fuck, Harper, you’re killing me.”

  “Now you know how I feel right now. I want you to fuck me.” I bite his ear and that seems to flip a switch because he flips me onto my back and proceeds to show me just how dirty Captain America can be.

  19

  Josh

  “Can I get a picture with you?” a boy asks as his father holds his shoulders in support.

  My eyes catch Harper’s who gives me a sad smile and I make a point to apologize later because after the fifth time, I know she’s getting annoyed and if I’m honest, I am too.

  “Sure.” My smile seems genuine but in the back of my mind, all I want to do is have a quiet dinner with my girlfriend and talk about her day. I have the night off, one of the few I have in the next month, and I want to spend it looking at her beautiful face and not at the front-facing camera that is now thrust in front of me.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Anderson!” he says, the smile taking over his face as his father gives me a grateful look when they walk away.

  “I get it now,” she admits, bringing her water to her lips and taking a sip.

  “You get what now?” I smile and take her hand in mine.

  “Why you hate going out. The number of people that want something from you, it’s exhausting and I’m just witnessing it, but you’re living it.”

  I chuckle, bringing her palm to my lips and kiss it softly.

  “You get used to it,” I lie, looking around the restaurant and hoping to God we don’t get interrupted again. “What?” I say when I see her eyes narrow.

  “You’re a bad liar.” She shakes
her head and then picks up the dessert menu and we order the chocolate cake to share. “What if I wanted all of that cake for myself?” she grunts, crossing her hands over her chest in protest but all that does is let my eyes feast on her tits for a few seconds. “Eyes up here, Mr. Anderson, we’re in public.” She winks as I smile, wondering how this became so easy. Everything about our relationship since Harper let me in has been pure bliss.

  Just as the waiter brings the cake over with two forks, my phone rings and I look over at my girl and see understanding cross her features but also sadness, so I choose to ignore it. And like that night a few weeks ago, once it stops, it starts all over again. I sigh, mouthing “I’m sorry” as I take the phone out of my back pocket and see that it’s my agent.

  “Shit, I gotta take this, sweetheart.”

  She nods her head and nods toward the cake sitting in front of her.

  “Don’t be surprised if this whole thing is gone by the time you’re done.” She smirks as I laugh quietly to myself and walk away from our table and down the hall where it’s a bit quieter.

  “This is the second time you’ve interrupted a night with my girl, Justin. This better be an emergency,” I grit through clenched teeth as I pace the hallway, making a point to look back at Harper every few seconds as if she’ll disappear on me.

  “The Hawks called me this morning.” By the tone of his voice, I’m guessing this is not going to be a good conversation. “They’re concerned about your play, they’ve noticed how much your game is fluctuating and want to make sure this isn’t going to be an ongoing thing.”

  I roll my eyes and wonder when having a few bad games in between some good games became everyone’s business.

  “Before you get all huffy...”

  I grunt, hating that he knows me so well.

  “Come meet me at Paul’s. We’ll have a drink and I can go over everything they said plus my thoughts on how to move forward.”

  I take a deep breath, taking one last look at Harper who is too occupied with her chocolate cake to notice me staring at her.

  “Fine, but this better be quick, I was in the middle of a date.”

  He says he’ll meet me there in half an hour and so I hang up the phone, placing it back in my pocket, walking back to my table where Harper is licking the last remnants of the cake off her fork.

  “Enjoying that, are you?” I ask, trying to control the urge to groan at the sight of her tongue licking that damn fork.

  “You took too long.” She shrugs, giving me that deadly smirk as I sit back down. “Who was on the phone?”

  “Justin,” I say, raking my fingers through my hair and wondering why all of this had to happen now.

  “Your agent? What did he want?” Her voice is light but reserved as her eyes take me in.

  “He needs to talk to me about a call he had with the Hawks.”

  Her brow furrows in confusion and I chuckle, because I’m guessing that’s exactly what I looked like when he told me the same thing.

  “What does management want? Do you think it’s about the last couple of games?”

  I tilt my head to the side, forgetting sometimes that she knows more about this life than I think. It’s refreshing to not have to explain every detail of my life to someone.

  “Probably. Justin did say something about them being concerned about my numbers, so that’s probably it.”

  She shakes her head and mutters something about only caring about money and not their players. I give her a sad smile as I take her hand in mine.

  “But him calling means I have to cut our date short.”

  Her face falls for a split second before that smile returns, the one I’ve come to realize she gives when she doesn’t want to talk about whatever is bothering her.

  “That’s okay,” she says, gesturing to the waiter to bring the check. When he places the bill on the table, her hand shoots out to take it when I stop her.

  “Harper.” My tone isn’t as light as it usually is. One, because she’s trying to pay when she knows that is something I will never allow, and two, I know she’s mad and I don’t want her to hide that from me. “I know you’re mad,” I say before taking the receipt and placing a few bills on the table to cover the tab and the tip.

  “I’m not mad,” she admits, her eyes meeting mine as I give her that look that tells her how much I don’t believe her. “Fine, I’m upset, but I’m not mad.”

  I burst out a laugh, so loud that a few people look our way.

  “Come on, crazy girl, I’ll take you home before I head to meet Justin.”

  She grins as I take her hand in mine and lead her outside.

  “You know I would rather spend the night with you, right?” I whisper in her ear when the cool night air hits my face.

  “I know,” she murmurs against my shoulder as I pull her closer, walking slowly toward my truck. I know I told Justin I would meet him in half an hour, but right now I want to make sure Harper’s good before I leave, and if that means I’m a few minutes late? So be it.

  Just as we reach my truck, she opens the passenger door and before she has the chance to climb in, I spin her and take her mouth with mine. I expect the kiss to be heated and punishing but it turns into a slow and languid exploration of her mouth. It’s as if I’m memorizing her lips, imprinting her taste to my brain and reminding myself what her hips feel like beneath my fingers.

  “I wish I could spend the rest of the night inside you,” I say, kissing down the side of her neck, loving the way her knees weaken with each pass of my lips. “But right now, I need to be Josh Anderson, the baseball player, not Josh your boyfriend.”

  “You’re right, I’m sorry,” she whispers, her fingers trailing over the buttons of my shirt, her eyes not meeting mine. “It’s not fair of me to think that I can monopolize all of your time.”

  I smile, tilting her face up so our eyes lock. I want her eyes on me when I say this.

  “There is nothing wrong with you wanting me all to yourself.” I grin, loving the blush that’s creeping up her cheeks. “Trust me, I feel the same way.” I lean down and kiss her lightly. “But just remember that if I had it my way, you would be able to monopolize every second of every day of the rest of my life. Got it?”

  She smiles, nodding her head.

  “Good. Now get in so I can drop you off and go meet Justin so I can come back home to you, okay?”

  When I leave her at her apartment I make my way to Paul’s. I hope to God there’s more to this meeting than management being concerned about my numbers.

  “You’re late,” Justin rumbles, handing me a beer as I sit next to him at the bar. It’s not packed like I expected on my way over, but I’m still surprised we’re sitting here.

  “Yeah, well, I had to drop Harper off at home.”

  His eyes don’t leave the TV screens in front of us, and I realize why we’re sitting here.

  “Which one of your players is playing tonight?” I ask, knowing I’m not his only client and also knowing that most don’t live in the city.

  “Rodgers is playing in Colorado and Carter is finishing up in New York.” He nods as my eyes take in the games. I know he would rather be watching at home. “Speaking of Harper…”

  At the mention of her name, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and my shackles are up instantly.

  “What about her?” I take a sip of my beer, trying not to break the bottle with how hard I’m gripping the glass.

  “It’s the reason I asked you to talk.”

  I crease my brow, knowing that’s not what he told me over the phone.

  “Before you get pissed, I know I said that management called me, and they did. Just not about numbers.”

  I arch a brow and wait for him to continue.

  “There have been a few articles written about you lately with a couple different women, and they’re concerned you’re distracted.”

  My eyes roll as we both take a breath and watch a few minutes of the game.

  �
�Since when does my love life land on the desk of the men upstairs?” I say after a beat of silence and when I look over at Justin, he’s grimacing.

  “When their star player is spending more time seeking pussy and less time on the field.”

  I slam my hand on the bar, causing everyone around us to look our way.

  “If I ever hear you refer to Harper as pussy again, I will not only dump the rest of this beer over your head but also—” I would have threatened to punch him but we both know that wouldn’t help and it would just be another headline for me to explain.

  “Noted. But in all seriousness, what’s going on, Josh?”

  I spend the next thirty minutes reluctantly going through my entire relationship with Harper,

  “So, it’s serious?” he asks as if the way I was talking about her earlier wasn’t a clue.

  “Of course, it is. I wouldn’t have talked to you about her if it wasn’t.”

  He nods his head, finishing off his beer and turning on his stool to face me.

  “Good. Just remember that if this relationship distracts you in any way, management will know, and they will come at you hard. After the glorious season you had last year and the contract they’re willing to offer you at the end of this season, they want productivity, not gossip headlines.”

  I give him a curt nod before he pats me on my shoulder and stands up.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I have some more phone calls to make.”

  I tip back my head, finishing the last of my beer and I’m about to stand up when I feel a hand on the back of my shoulder and when my head turns to see who it is, every muscle in my body tightens.

  “Well hello there, gorgeous.” Her fingers flick over my chest as I turn away from her, trying my best to get out of her grip, but am stopped by the bar behind me.

  “Angela. What are you doing here?” I ask, hoping I can make this a quick conversation and avoid a repeat of the last time she touched me like this.

  “I saw you talking to that guy and thought I would sneak over and see if you wanted to get a drink.”