At the front of the plane, Tom Morgan’s overhead light was on. As usual, he was preparing for the next game. The man worked hard, she’d give him that. He was one of the younger managers in the league, and although she spoke to him nearly every day she knew as little about him now as she did on the first day she was introduced to him. He was one of those strong silent types who rarely got ruffled. Come to think of it, the only time she’d ever seen him lose his cool was when he and her boss got into it. Katherine seemed to be the only person on the planet who could make the skipper see red.
Just as she was contemplating why there was so much animosity between her boss and Tom Morgan, she felt the row shift. Turning from the window, her heart skipped a beat as Matt settled his large frame on the seat next to her. He smelled of soap and shampoo, reminding her of the steamy nights they’d spent together in D.C. The memories stirred her in a way she definitely shouldn’t be stirred right now.
“Not much to see out there.” He pointed at the window. “It’s pitch-black.”
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“Can’t. I’m too wired.” He grinned. “That was some game.”
That was an understatement. The game had been tied at one-all until the top of the thirteenth inning. Then with two outs, Matt hit a solo home run to center field and put the Blaze up by a run. In the bottom of the inning, the Cardinals got their first two men on base and were threatening to score when Morgan made the decision to pull their closer and put in Trey Gentry. Trey was able to strike out the next three batters and the Blaze moved one game ahead of the Dodgers in the standings.
“I have a feeling the rest of the season is going to be one helluva roller-coaster ride,” Matt said, with an underlying edge of excitement in his voice.
Kelly shifted in her seat, and because she’d raised the armrest, her thigh brushed against his and heightened the beat of her pulse. He looked rakishly handsome in his black slacks and pale blue dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar. “It may come down to the last series of the season,” she said, trying to tamp down the urge to run her fingers through his thick wavy hair.
He nodded. “The Dodgers.”
Even in the dim light of the cabin she could see Matt’s upbeat expression had turned somber. It was unusual for him to talk about his former team. “How do you feel about that?”
“It’s surreal.”
“I can imagine.”
“They were my team for...since always.” He hesitated before going on. “When I was a kid I used to imagine playing for them. And when I actually became a Dodger it was like a dream come true.”
Kelly smiled. “That’s the way I felt when the Blaze hired me.”
“I threw it all away.” Matt shook his head. “Even while it was happening I knew I was making it easy for them to get rid of me, but that didn’t stop me. I wasn’t surprised when they traded me, just pissed off at myself for letting it happen.”
Her heart constricted. “I know this is the biggest cliché in the world, but sometimes things really do happen for a reason.”
A wry smile tugged at his mouth. “Is this where you tell me that the Blaze and I needed each other or some psychobabble like that?”
“We do need you,” she said adamantly. “Rick Taylor may have been a rookie, but he quickly became the heart and soul of this team. The day we learned he was out for the season we hit rock bottom.”
“That’s where I was at when I got to San Francisco. Rock bottom.”
“But you’re not anymore, and neither is the team. We’ve got a real shot at the postseason because of you.”
Matt tilted his head, his eyes quizzical. “How do you know I’m not at rock bottom anymore?”
“Simple,” she said with a smile. “I watch you play every day. You’re having fun again, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” He searched her face and as seconds passed the intense attraction they could no longer deny throbbed between them. “I want to kiss you right now,” he said, lowering his voice.
Kelly wanted that too. So much. But they were on the team charter, for heaven’s sake. Anyone could walk by and see them making out. So not professional.
“You’ll have to wait until we get back to the city.”
Matt took her hand and with his thumb, made slow lazy circles on her palm. Her skin prickled pleasurably at his light touch. He wasn’t making it easy to resist him. “I want to keep seeing you when we get back.”
“Seeing me, or sleeping with me?” she asked softly. Might as well see where things stood sooner rather than later. If she was just a booty call then it was hasta la vista, baby, no matter how much she wanted him.
“Both,” he replied and gave her a slow, sexy grin.
“We’d be dating then?”
“Yes.” He paused. “Am I assuming too much?”
“No.” Happiness bloomed inside of her. “I want to keep seeing you too.”
“Seeing me, or sleeping with me?” Matt asked with a smart-ass smirk on his face.
“Both.”
He leaned forward, his lips mere inches from hers. “Now I really want to kiss you.”
Lowering her gaze to his mouth, Kelly was sorely tempted to bridge the short distance between them. She knew exactly what he could do with that mouth. Just thinking about it sent a surge of yearning through her body so powerful it was hard to breathe.
“Matt,” she whispered, aching to kiss him even as common sense told her it was insane. “We shouldn’t.”
“One kiss,” he said huskily, then his lips covered hers and every coherent thought was stripped from her mind. Passion overrode caution as his mouth coaxed hers open. She surrendered to the demanding urgency of his kiss, welcoming the hot licks of desire coursing through her body.
She wasn’t sure when it happened, but he wasn’t holding her hand anymore. In fact, his hand was on her thigh. Her bare thigh, thanks to her trusty wrap dress—the dress she always brought with her on road trips in case of emergencies like an impromptu dinner with the opposing team’s VIPs or—more importantly—when she didn’t have access to a washer and dryer in a hotel and wasn’t able to wash her regular clothes.
“Matt...” she whispered against his mouth. “What are you doing?”
He trailed his lips to her ear. “I want to touch you,” he murmured in a low gravelly voice that sent a hot gush of need between her legs. His hand inched up her thigh, and while a part of her knew she should put an end to this right now, the other part of her—the part that was turned on as hell—won the battle.
Angling her head, she scanned the cabin. Tom Morgan’s light was still on. As always, she’d chosen a row in the back of the plane. The guys usually congregated in the front and it was easier to concentrate if she needed to get some work done. There was no one in her general vicinity, but that didn’t mean one of the players wouldn’t walk to the back to use the restroom.
Did she want to take that chance? As soon as Matt nuzzled her neck, the matter was no longer up for debate.
“Do you want me to stop?” His voice was so low she could barely hear him. Turning her head, she gave him his answer by leaning forward to press her mouth to his. He reacted immediately, seducing her with a long, slow kiss that clouded her mind and set her body aflame.
After that, she didn’t know what came over her. All she knew was when his hand reached the top of her thighs, she spread her legs and had to hold back a moan of pleasure when he rubbed her over her panties. And, holy shit, did it feel good. Pulling her mouth from his, she sucked in a breath and leaned her head against the seat. Between her legs, Matt stilled his hand. She met his heated gaze. “Don’t stop,” she whispered, shocked yet totally aroused by what they were doing.
Matt took direction well. He didn’t stop. And thankfully, he smothered her lips with another kiss or she would have cried out the second he slipped his hand into her panties and found her hot and wet for him with a stroke of his finger.
That was when the exquisite torture began. Exquis
ite, because with each gentle movement of his finger against her delicate flesh, he was bringing her closer and closer to fulfillment; torture because she couldn’t make a sound for fear of them being discovered.
It was sweet agony.
Soon the tension became almost unbearable. As their kiss deepened, Matt teased her by brushing his thumb over her clit. A tremor of desire shot through her body. This was madness, but she didn’t care. She arched her hips, demanding release. And finally, he gave it to her. A rush of pleasure flooded her body; she moaned against his mouth and then froze.
Oh shit.
Matt relinquished her lips. “You weren’t that loud,” he assured her as he slipped his hand from her panties and scanned the cabin. “All clear,” he whispered.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He turned to her with a wicked smile on his face. “That was hot.”
“We could have been caught,” she murmured as she pulled the hem of her dress over her thighs and then pressed her fingers to her cheeks. Her skin felt flushed, hell, her whole body felt flushed—and very satisfied. “You should probably go back to your seat.”
“Give me a few minutes, okay?”
“Why?”
Matt looked down at his lap, then at her and grinned. “Take a wild guess.”
Chapter Seventeen
On Monday morning, the day after the team had returned to San Francisco, Kelly stepped off the elevator, waved to the receptionist and headed to her office. Today the players were enjoying a much-needed day off, but she wasn’t allowing herself that same luxury. Although Katherine had encouraged her to take some time off after the lengthy road trip, the thought of all the emails and media requests awaiting her had been enough for her to resist the temptation to do so.
After she’d watered her plants and turned on her computer, there was a light knock on the office door. She looked up to find Angie at the threshold with a welcoming smile on her face. Her dark hair was tied back and she wore a blue-and-black-print dress that accentuated her slender waist and made her blue eyes seem even brighter. “Hey.” Kelly motioned for her to come in.
“How was the trip?” Angie moved to the chair opposite the desk and plopped down. “Did the guys behave themselves?”
“Other than J.T. staying out past curfew one night, they didn’t give me any trouble.” Kelly opened the desk drawer and dropped her purse inside.
The pleasant expression on Angie’s face vanished. “Was he with a cleat chaser?”
“Not that I know of. When I got to him, he’d had more than a few beers at the hotel bar.” Kelly closed the drawer and leaned back in her chair. “He got into a fight with a Marlins fan. The guy was going to call the cops but I was able to talk him down.”
“That doesn’t sound like J.T.”
No. It didn’t. Matt had mentioned that J.T. had been out of sorts ever since the night he and Angie had gone to Kamu’s together. And since Angie’s cleat-chaser remark had been tinged with more than just a little jealousy, it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. Something had happened between J.T. and Angie that night. But what? That was the million-dollar question.
“J.T. promised it would never happen again. He was pretty hungover the next morning.” She paused. “That reminds me. How’s Alexis?”
“She’s been keeping to herself. I think she’s using the bathroom down by the cafeteria now.”
“Damn it.” Kelly rubbed her temples. “That’s probably my fault. Right before I left on the road trip, I caught her throwing up in the bathroom and confronted her. She denied it, of course.”
“Maybe she needs some sort of intervention,” Angie suggested. “Have you thought about talking to her parents?”
“Yes.” She met Angie’s concerned gaze. “I’ve been going back and forth about it for over a week now.”
“If she was my daughter I’d want to know.”
Kelly sighed. “Me too.”
* * *
At noon, Matt was standing in front of the mirror in the Blaze gym doing biceps curls when Rizzo entered through the double doors behind him. Shit. Just when he’d been enjoying the solitude, the one guy on the team he couldn’t stand decided to work out too.
Rizzo caught his glance in the mirror but ignored him and got on one of the treadmills in the back of the room. As much as he disliked the guy, he did admire Rizzo’s work ethic. Rizzo wasn’t a Cy Young award winner for nothing. He trained hard and was in excellent shape.
Matt finished the curls and replaced the dumbbells on the rack in front of him. He’d been working out for almost two hours and was ready to call it a day. He picked up the towel on the bench next to him, wiped his sweaty brow and headed to the locker room without giving Rizzo another thought.
After he’d showered and dressed, Rizzo strode in and went straight to his locker. Matt was stuffing his workout clothes into his gym bag when Rizzo walked up to him and stuck a magazine a few inches from his face.
“I thought you weren’t giving interviews.” Rizzo’s tone was accusatory.
Matt recognized the popular weekly baseball magazine and was surprised to see he was on the cover. It was a shot of him with his fist in the air after he’d hit a home run in one of the games they’d played in Miami. The caption read: MATT’S BACK!
“I’m not.” Matt shoved the magazine away and glared at Rizzo, whose shaved head glistened with beads of sweat. “What’s your problem?”
“My problem is you.” Rizzo pointed at him, the contempt in his eyes hard to miss. “I don’t like you coming here acting all high and mighty, like your shit doesn’t stink.”
“I’m just doing my job,” Matt said, trying to keep his temper in check. The asshole was always talking smack about him and he was getting damn tired of turning the other cheek. This trying-to-be-a-better-man thing definitely had its drawbacks. “I didn’t ask them to put me on the cover, but they did. So get the fuck over it.”
Rizzo flung the magazine to the floor. “Enjoy it while it lasts,” he snarled. “Because it won’t last long.” And with that final parting shot, Rizzo stalked to his locker.
Matt glanced at the magazine lying on the floor and couldn’t help but feel an odd sense of satisfaction that he’d made the cover. Mostly because the last time he’d been on it, he’d been photographed coming out of a Hollywood nightclub with a well-known supermodel on his arm. Neither the caption nor the article inside had been flattering. As he recalled, the words out of control as well as contentious had been used on numerous occasions. At the time, he’d been more than a little ticked off at the sports writer who’d written it and had even called him out publicly. It was an ugly tirade, but back then it was one more stop on the trashing-his-life tour.
Just then, his cell phone rang. He turned to his locker to grab it off the top shelf. “Hey, Lily,” he said after glancing at the caller ID. “What’s up?”
“Matt’s back!” she exclaimed with a girlish squeal. “Did you see the cover, Matt? Did you?”
“I sure did.” He pulled his wallet from the shelf and stuck it in the back pocket of his jeans. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good. I’m doing everything Dr. Mike says I should do,” Lily said. “How was the plane ride?”
Matt thought of Kelly and their sexy interlude. They were damn lucky they hadn’t gotten caught. But the threat of discovery had made it even hotter. “It was the best flight ever,” he said with a grin.
“That’s because you were coming home.”
“Yep. That’s it,” he said as he turned and zipped his gym bag.
“We’re gonna watch Major League tonight.”
“That’s a great movie.” Matt nodded at one of the assistant equipment managers who walked through the locker room clutching a basket of clean towels.
“You should come over and watch it with us. My mom makes the best popcorn in the whole world. It’s way better than microwave. Kelly could come too. It would be fun.”
“Well, I...”
/> “Please, please come,” Lily pleaded in a voice that would melt the hardest of hearts.
“All right, you talked me into it.”
“Yay!” Lily cheered. “Call Kelly and tell her to come too, okay? Tell her it’s the funniest baseball movie ever.”
“I’ll call her right after I hang up with you,” he promised.
“Tell her about the popcorn,” Lily added in an eager voice. Obviously, in Lily’s book, homemade popcorn was enough to seal the deal.
“Will do. Now let me talk to your mom just to make sure she’s okay with this.”
* * *
“You wanted to see me?”
Kelly looked from her computer screen to find Alexis standing in the doorway. The poor girl looked like she was about to face a firing squad. Her hands were clasped together tightly and her expression bordered on fearful. A pang of remorse shot through Kelly. The last thing she wanted was for Alexis to be intimidated. But she was. Confronting her intern in the bathroom hadn’t accomplished a damn thing. It was time to try a different tactic.
“Yes.” She swiveled her chair around. “Come in.”
“How was your trip?” Alexis asked politely and stood stiffly behind the visitor chair.
“We won more games than we lost, that’s always good,” Kelly said. “How are you? Did you get over that bout with the flu?”
Alexis’s face colored. She reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “I went to the doctor. She gave me some antibiotics. I was fine after a few days.”
“I’m sorry if I came off a bit harsh before I left,” she said, hoping it would ease Alexis’s discomfort. “I was worried about you.”
“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m fine.”
Kelly studied her intern. The red dress she was wearing had been snug the last time she’d worn it but now it was loose. Alexis had dropped several more pounds, and Kelly was positive she’d lied about the doctor visit. It was obvious Alexis wasn’t ready to admit she had a problem but, if and when she did, Kelly wanted her to be able to come to her if she needed to talk.
The Winning Season Page 21
