Payoff Pitch (Philadelphia Patriots)

by V. K. Sykes

He parted her inner lips, already so moist and slick. The room was dimly lit by the angle of the late afternoon sun and obscured by the sheers over the windows, but he could see how ready she was. She was flushed dark pink and her clit was full and stiff and begging to be sucked. He had no trouble obliging her.

  Noah leaned in, flicking his tongue over her, savoring her musky, sweet scent and taste. He tongued her clit and she immediately started squirming, forcing him to clamp his hands on her hips to keep her in place against the wall. Teddy let out a loud groan and clutched at his shoulders. And when he flicked his tongue over her again, she spread her legs even wider, giving him access to every juicy bit of her.

  He loved every part of the female body, and he’d always enjoying making a woman crazy by going down on her. But with Teddy, it was hotter and better than it had ever been. He wanted to go at her all night but he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. He needed to make her come, and then he needed to get inside her, pronto.

  He pulled back, sitting on his heels while still keeping her body clamped against the wall. She froze under his hands and stared down at him with disbelief. “For God’s sake, Noah, why the hell did you stop?”

  “Not stopping, just changing it up.”

  She gave her head a tiny shake, as if she didn’t understand.

  “I want to see you when you come, babe,” he said.

  Her soft mouth rounded, but then she gave a jerky nod as a pretty blush colored her cheeks. She looked incredibly excited, and her breath rose and fell so rapidly it made her tits quiver. Just looking at her made everything inside him go hard and tight, and Noah wanted to possess her in a way he’d never wanted with any other woman.

  As he kept his gaze latched onto her face, he brought his hands back to her drenched folds. He clamped three fingers together and slowly pushed them into her passage. Man, she was tight, and so wet and hot. He almost came just thinking about how she would feel around his cock.

  As he slowly twisted his hand, Teddy let out a gasp and went up on her toes. “Oh, God. That feels amazing.”

  She looked amazing, with her legs splayed wide and her back arching away from the wall, thrusting her breasts up and out. Her red hair curled down over her shoulders in shiny waves, almost reaching her nipples. Teddy was all smooth, sun-kissed skin, with pretty pink nipples and a luscious pussy.

  But it was her face that really got him. She looked so sweet, with her nose scrunched up as she concentrated on her approaching orgasm, a flush of color blazing over the bridge of her cute nose and across her cheekbones. No one would ever mistake her for a movie star or model, or some exotic beauty belonging on the cover of a magazine. Teddy looked exactly like what she was—a pretty, nice girl from a normal town, one who was smart, worked hard, and was her own woman. He loved everything about her, including the mangled finger she self-consciously tried to hide when they had sex. Yep, even that sad little stump worked for him, because it showed the kind of person she was and where she’d come from.

  “That’s it, Teddy,” Noah murmured as he slowly pumped his fingers. “Just concentrate on how this makes you feel. On how hard you’re gonna to come.”

  She moaned again and lifted a foot, pulling it up the wall as if to brace herself. Noah slid a hand behind her knee and draped her leg over his shoulder. Now, she was really wide open.

  While he kept pumping in and out, opening his fingers a bit to stretch her passage, he went back to massaging her clit with his other hand. Teddy was really going crazy, whimpering, almost crying as he played with her, flexing her hips to meet him. He teased her, circling the tight bud, all the while keeping his gaze fastened on her face. She was lost in the sensations, her eyes squeezed shut and her lips parted as her breath came in shallow pants.

  “Open your eyes, Teddy,” Noah growled. “I want you to look at me when you come.”

  It took her a few seconds to drag her lids up, but she finally looked down at him. Her blue eyes were hazy and unfocused, and her pupils were huge, as if she was drugged.

  Satisfaction surged through him. He was pretty damn sure no other man had ever reduced her to this state, and he had every intention of making it a regular habit.

  He pressed his fingers high up inside her, reaching for that perfect spot. Then he pressed down on her clit.

  “Now, Teddy,” he ordered. “Come for me now.”

  And she did. Her body arched in a perfect bow, her arms flung wide along the wall as she let out an incoherent cry. Shudders passed through her and he felt the leg draped over his shoulder begin to tremble. He let it slip to the floor as he came up on his knees, pressing himself against her to keep her from sliding down the wall. Gently, he pulled his fingers from her body as he pressed a kiss to her belly.

  Keeping her steady between his hands, Noah came to his feet. Teddy’s eyes were at half-mast, and she looked almost stupefied as she clutched at his biceps.

  “God, that was amazing,” she said in a funny, croaking voice. “And we haven’t even made it to the bed.”

  “Trust me, babe,” he said, as he swung her warm, naked body into his arms. “That’s exactly where we’re headed next.”

  * * *

  Teddy lay face down on the bed, hazily trying to recall the number of orgasms she’d had—four, maybe five? In fact, she could barely remember her name anymore, or whether it was day or night outside the luxurious hotel room, darkened by the heavy drapes. And, now, just when she thought she couldn’t possibly feel any more gloriously satisfied, Noah straddled her thighs and started to massage her back with his strong, very skilled hands.

  “Oh, man, that feels so, so good,” she mumbled into the fluffy pillow cradling her head. “You could make a killing doing massages.”

  “It’s hand strength. I guess all those years of gripping baseballs is finally paying off,” Noah said, his voice husky with amusement. “Your skin is so soft and perfect, babe. I just hope you don’t mind my rough mitts.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you when to stop. Like, approximately never.”

  His hands slid up and down in long, sensual strokes from her shoulders to her hips. Damned if he hadn’t gone hard again, with his erection rubbing against her ass in the same lustful rhythm as the strokes of his hands on her back. The man was some kind of sex machine—ever ready and willing. Teddy had never been with a sex machine before and she liked it. Especially since this particular model was a man she was falling in love with.

  Don’t think about that right now. Just stay in the moment.

  Just like the first time they’d slept together, they hadn’t done much talking, letting their bodies express everything they wanted to say. Staying in the moment had definitely seemed the way to go once again.

  Teddy glanced over at the bedside clock, hazily aware that she was feeling hungry. She stifled a gasp as the electronic numbers told her it was ten o’clock. They’d been screwing their brains out for nearly six hours, with the occasional power nap in between bouts. They’d been lost in some kind of wild, erotic time warp where nothing existed but the amazing things they were doing to each other’s bodies. She had no inclination to stop, either, but she figured she did need some fuel. Because, well, it seemed like Noah was up for a marathon and that sounded like a plan to her.

  “Maybe we should order up some food before the kitchen shuts down?” she murmured over her shoulder. “A little sustenance to keep us going for more…you know.” She wriggled her butt underneath him.

  Noah came up on his knees, looming over her as he slid a hand between her damp thighs. He slipped two deft fingers into her super-slick sheath. “Sure, but how about we get to that in five minutes or so?” he said in a voice so dark and sexy she shivered beneath him.

  Then she was sucking in a breath as a finger pressed against her swollen clit. Lord, the things he could do to her. “A quickie, huh? Oh, well, I guess I can wait that long.”

  Duh.

  When she felt that finger circle her aching nub, she let out a gasp. “Oh, yeah, I ca
n wait. No problem at all.”

  Noah laughed softly as he pulled his hand away and re-positioned over her, gently lifting her at the hips. Teddy got the message, knew what he wanted, and was more than game for the new position. She brought her knees up and rested on her elbows, arching her butt in the air. She heard him rip open yet another little foil pack and a moment or two later he wrapped his hands around her hips. In one long, smooth stroke, he sank fully into her again. She gasped at how stuffed she felt, especially in this position. She felt completely taken over by Noah, body and soul, and she loved every second of it.

  When she reached underneath and cupped his heavy sack in her palm, he let out a low moan, flexing his hips once and then going still. “God, I missed this, babe.” His voice was just a husky growl. “It’s so fucking good to be inside you again.”

  Then he started to stroke in and out, his rhythm deep and dominating. “You’re so damn hot, Teddy. I don’t think I’m ever going to let you out of bed.”

  Her brain mentally blinked even as her body collapsed onto the soft bedding. He’d missed this? Meaning just the sex? How about missing her since she’d moved out of his house? Was that mostly how he saw her—as a sex partner and not much else?

  She tried to let it go, telling herself it was just some sex talk he’d blurted out to make her feel good. But the harder she tried, the more the sensual haze of the last several hours slipped away. Even as he gripped her body, expertly pounding into her, her doubts and worries—all the things she’d been ignoring for the last twenty-four hours—starting buzzing loudly in her head, lifting her away from the pleasure of the moment. From him.

  What am I doing here?

  What was she to Noah, anyway? Just his dog sitter and live-in employee with benefits? Cristina had tried to warn her, but Teddy had been too smitten and, well, too stupid to see it. She and Noah were worlds apart, and a hot, sex-filled weekend wasn’t going to change that. She had to be crazy to think a guy like him—a big celebrity and the son of a billionaire oilman, for God’s sake—would change the course of his life just to please her.

  “Noah, we have to talk…seriously…and not when you’re…oh, God…screwing me into a trance,” she blurted out, too anxious to stop herself. She must sound like a crazy person, asking to talk while he was making her eyes roll back in her head. But she couldn’t help it.

  He paused, but then one big hand slid up to her shoulder, holding her down against the mattress in a gentle but unyielding grip. Then he started pumping again, harder and faster, clearly on the verge of another orgasm. His voice came out harsh and panting. “All I know is that I want you to move back in with me, Teddy. We both want this, so to hell with all the other crap. This is all that matters.”

  Um, what?

  Shock lanced through her. The other crap, like the things she believed in, the things that gave her life meaning and purpose? Apparently, only the sex mattered to him after all.

  Noah erupted inside her, sinking his fingers into her flesh, tugging her so tight against his groin she couldn’t move. But as soon as he started to relax his grip, she pulled away from him and turned over, fighting against the welling anguish and the awful, inevitable sense that nothing between them had truly changed. All the problems were still there, as big and nasty as ever.

  His arms came around her, pulling her into an embrace that should have made her feel safe and warm and happy. But Teddy knew that any sense of safety was nothing but a joke.

  And the joke, unfortunately, was on her.

  - 26 -

  Noah eased back on the gas pedal and gave the brakes a tap as the car started to barrel down a fairly steep hill. A sign had warned about a sharp left curve at the bottom. He tended to drive too fast whenever his nerves got frayed, and today they were pretty much shredded.

  So far on the drive from Cooperstown, a heavy silence had been hanging between Teddy and him. Now they were only about ten miles from the Quinn farm, and when they got there, Noah intended to treat it as just a quick pit stop. He’d load up Toby and Sadie and get back on the road to Philly with minimum delay. He liked Mr. Quinn, but he was in no frame of mind to have to plaster a fake smile on his face and pretend that everything was fine with Teddy. He doubted she was up for that either, which meant it could be damn uncomfortable spending any time with her father.

  Maybe she’d even decide to stay at the farm for a few days. She was obviously pissed enough at him to do something dramatic. After their amazing sexfest slammed to an unscheduled early stop last night, she’d been quiet and withdrawn, and this morning had disappeared from the room before he woke up. Noah figured she’d needed some space and had vowed to let her have all she wanted. The ball was in her court as far as he was concerned.

  He’d asked her what was wrong, of course, once he’d been able to collect his wits. But she’d just shaken her head and turned her back to him, pretending she wanted to sleep. Though Noah hadn’t bought that, she’d been adamant, refusing to even order room service. Far from wanting to talk, she’d rapidly erected the emotional version of the Great Wall of China to keep him out. At one point during the night, he’d even thought he’d heard her crying, and that had made him feel like he had a giant black cloud gathering over him. But after straining to listen to her breathing for a few minutes, he’d decided he must have imagined it.

  Women, can’t live with them…

  That dumb thought immediately made him feel like a complete asshole.

  Asking Teddy to move back in with him must have been the impetus behind her edgy, silent funk. He didn’t get it, though. What was the big deal with asking her that? All she had to do was say no if she didn’t want to come back or wasn’t quite ready to do it. They’d had a good trip, both at her dad’s place and in Cooperstown, so what the hell was going on?

  He stole a quick glance at her now. She had her head turned away as she stared out the side window, the smooth line of her cheek and the downward curve of her pretty mouth setting off an ache deep inside him. They’d exchanged barely a dozen words in total since they left the hotel this morning. She’d refused to come down to breakfast with him, opting instead for just two cups of coffee—one while she went for an early morning walk and one for the road.

  All he knew for sure was that he didn’t need all this gut-tightening, inexplicable tension between them. His insides were already churning—over his shoulder, his future, and whether or not to give in and do what his father and brother wanted him to do. If he couldn’t figure out what was up with Teddy, maybe it was best that she didn’t move back in. It looked like they both needed space.

  Which sucked, as far as he was concerned.

  * * *

  Teddy waved out the window at her dad as they pulled away. He waved back, but his worried smile conveyed his concern with the way she and Noah had blown in, loaded up the dogs, and headed right back out again. But there was nothing to be done for it. Noah had made it clear he wanted to get back on the road right away, and she had no desire to force him to sit over coffee with her dad, trying to pretend everything was fine. The tension was already unbearable. She couldn’t wait to get back to the city and put some distance between them.

  At least Noah hadn’t pressured her to talk, and she was grateful for that. If he’d berated her for her crappy mood, she figured it could have gone one of two ways—either she would dissolve into a messy puddle of needy tears or she would lash out with every ounce of frustration and hurt that had been building since late last night. But the idea of either of those responses made her cringe with shame. Time apart from Noah was the only answer. Time so she could sort out the insane jumble of emotions that had tied her in knots. Having sex with him had greatly complicated the situation, and she didn’t dare discuss their problems until she had some clarity and some control over herself. Otherwise, she would destroy what little chance they had for any kind of relationship.

  Besides, if they’d talked and the discussion had gone off the rails, her dad would surely have noticed it.
Given how protective he was of her, he would have blamed Noah and probably started loading up his old shotgun.

  “The thought had crossed my mind that you might decide to stay at your dad’s place for a while, since you’d mentioned that before,” Noah said as they pulled out of her farm’s laneway onto the county road. Toby gave a loud bark from the rear as if to punctuate that statement before flopping down with a contented sigh. The dogs had been so happy to see the two of them arrive, running around in circles like the lovable idiots they were.

  Teddy couldn’t look at Noah. Instead, she focused on the way his hands rigidly gripped the steering wheel. Last night, those hands had given her an insane amount of pleasure.

  “I’ve got a job to go back to, taking care of those two big babies of yours,” she said. “Or at least I think I do.”

  She winced at her sharp tone. She knew she couldn’t keep giving him the pointy edge of her temper but couldn’t seem to help herself. The truth was that she was terrified. No man had ever made her feel this uncertain before, like she was flying through the air without a net. And that awful feeling made her act like an idiot.

  “Sure. If you still want it,” Noah said looking straight ahead, his jaw tight. “But the way you’ve been acting, I was starting to think you might not want to be around me much longer.”

  “I guess I could say the same about you,” she shot back. Then she bit her lip, pissed all over again that she apparently had so little control.

  Noah flashed a look full of regret. “Don’t do that, okay? Look, whatever you have to say, why don’t you just come out with it? I’m not that good at reading female smoke signals. Just tell me what I did wrong.”

  Teddy sighed because he was right. She had to suck it up and acknowledge that she was acting stupidly—and maybe cowardly, too. That’s what falling in love with Noah Cade had obviously done to her—made her stupid and weak. Really, the only thing that could be more dangerous than falling in love with your boss was falling in love with your boss when you shared almost nothing in common with him, including how you looked at the world.