Game, Set, Match (A Humorous Contemporary Romance) (Love Match)

by Malone, Nana

  Finally, his hands felt the telltale quiver in her inner thighs. Felt her whole body tense. Heard the harsh ragged breaths tear from her. He slipped another finger inside her, but didn’t let up on the steady rhythm, in, out, in, out.

  He didn’t want her moans to carry upstairs and wake Nick, so he swiftly changed positions, and moved up her body to clamp his mouth over hers and absorb her cries. Feeling the gentle, pulsing spasms around his fingers, he used his thumb to stroke the concentrated bud of nerves. Once, twice, again a third time. All the while massaging the soft weight of her breast.

  To tease her, he slowed his fingers, wanting to draw out her response. His thumb stopped, and she rewarded him with a raw moan that told him everything he needed to know. She was hotter than any woman he’d ever met. “You like that, princess?” he mumbled against her lips.

  She answered with a moan.

  He smiled. “Oh, no, you’ll have to tell me.”

  She gave a choked cry on a breathy moan. “Yes. Yes, I like it. Just please—”

  He nipped her lower lip, then used the tip of his tongue to salve the tiny wound. “What the lady wants, the lady gets.

  He returned to her clit and circled the tiny bud, gently applying pressure. He murmured coaxing words in her ear as he urged her to relax. “Easy does it, baby. Just relax and let me love you.” Gently retracting and inserting his fingers, he kept a steady pace, until the slick muscles of her core began to milk his fingers, pulsing, seeking. His body quivered in answering time, begging for release. Screamed for it.

  He felt the trembling in her legs and coaxed her onward, determined to bring her to a shattering peak before he took. Before he buried himself so far into her tight sheath, he’d never be able to separate from her again.

  Izzy’s head snapped back, and her legs locked around him. “Jason—Oh my—” On a gasp, she came apart again, pouring liquid heat over his fingers.

  Spent, she sagged against him. He held her shaking form, anchored her to him and placed kisses on her head.

  After several moments, she lifted her head to stare at him. “What have you done to me?”

  The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Nothing you didn’t like.” His voice softened, and his fingers moved within her flesh. “You feel okay baby?”

  She didn’t say anything, but raised her hips in time to his movements. God save him. He could spend the next several years exploring every inch of her and never get bored.

  “You’re not too tired to—” He didn’t get a chance to finish his thought, before a beaming smile spread across her face.

  “I’ve been waiting for this since the moment I met you.”

  Her hands shook as she went for his belt. He attempted to help her with his free hand, but she brushed him away. The determined look on her face told him he was in for trouble. When she unbuckled his pants, she didn’t bother to free him from the confines of his jeans, but instead shoved her hand inside and encircled his rigid length.

  He hissed a breath and counted to five. When the counting did nothing to quell his body’s careen toward complete release, he tried to going for ten. He almost made it too, until her silken finger discovered the wet drop at the tip begging for attention.

  He muttered a curse as his hips bucked in response to her searing touch. A knowing smile hinted at the corner of her lips.

  Eyes heavy lidded, she used her finger to spread the dew across his straining head.

  “Izzy, God—”

  “Jason…” She pumped the length of him before shifting her hand further down to massage his balls.

  Eyes crossed, he hissed out a halt. “Izzy, wait. If you—” He squeezed his eyes shut and allowed her one more pump before he halted her hand with his. Peeling open his eyes, he anchored one arm around her wrist and drew nearer to her.

  The sight of her ripped a groan from his chest. She was so responsive, so wet. She looked so hot, wanton. He dipped his head to trace the tip of his tongue along her lower lip. “Delicious.”

  A sensual knowledgeable smile spread over her mouth as she took her delicate hands to his hips in an attempt to get his jeans off.

  “Here, let me…” He pulled out a condom and placed it on the railing. His hands went to help her with his jeans. “That last button can be tri—” Movement over her shoulder caught his eye.

  “Jason, hurry—”

  His arms tightened around her. “Shh. Sit still for a second.”

  His eyes scanned the surf, wanting to convince himself he saw a bird of some sort or a dog. The flickering shine of the moonlight on glass told him his gut instincts were correct.

  He gritted his teeth against the mixture of anger and lust. “Baby, listen very carefully. I need you to stand up and keep your face buried in my chest. I’m going to walk us back inside.”

  Izzy wrinkled her brow and stared at him. “Your chest is not my first choice for where I need to bury my face, but whatever turns you on, I—”

  Jason groaned out a laugh. Some idiot with a camera was capturing their every move, but she still managed to make him laugh. For a single second, he considered her offer, but he couldn’t compromise her if his gut was right. “I’d prefer you buried your face somewhere other than my chest as well, but I think we have company out on the surf.”

  “Shit.” Izzy tried to whirl in his arms to see what he saw, but Jason kept a tight grip on her shoulders.

  “No. You don’t want to do that. Let’s get inside, and I’ll call security.”

  He knew the moment the enormity of the situation snapped her addled brain back to reality. The sex fueled haze cleared from her gaze, and she went rigid in his arms. “Shit, are you serious? Someone’s really out there?”

  And then like slugs after the rain, realization crawled on the pavement sucking up the torrents of truth—whoever was out there could have seen everything…Could have photographed…everything.

  “As serious as my blue balls right now. Someone’s watching us.”

  Izzy scrambled and squirmed in an attempt to get to the balcony door, but Jason held her tight. Cradling the back of her head in his palm, he began the delicate backwards dance around the deck furniture to the door.

  Holding her so close, he could smell the lingering scent of her arousal mixed with the sea air and the sweet jasmine vanilla of her shampoo. Trying to ignore the urging twitch of his still aroused cock, he maneuvered them to the glass door.

  Once he placed her in the doorway, he settled her away from him. “Go have a hot bath. And, do me a favor, stay away from the windows. The last thing we need is to have some pap hotshot get a grainy photo of you.”

  Izzy wrapped her arms around her body, unable to ward off a shiver. “What are you going to do?”

  “Give whoever’s down there a one way ticket to dropping the soap.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Sexual frustration didn’t suit him. Every nerve ending Jason had was raw and ragged with lust, longing and something…deeper. He’d spent the rest of the night trying to find the paparazzi slime on the shores then filing a police report. By the time he made it home and back to Izzy, it was four in the morning and far too late to continue where they’d left off.

  Saturday, the magic spell that had cocooned the two of them had evaporated into the night like their stalker. They’d spent the whole day, and most of the night, with Nick, shuttling to and from practice and spending time as a pseudo family.

  For the first time in his adult life, he’d felt like an awkward teenager trying to talk to her in the bright light of the morning. Every time they’d caught each other’s eye, they were swift to avert their gazes, lest the awkwardness envelop them.

  He cared about Izzy more than he ever let himself care about anyone or anything. Jason slid her a glance across the expanse of his car as they drove to Nick’s exhibition match. He was a fool if he tried to pretend he wasn’t falling for her—again.

  He could get used to the early Sunday morning drives to matches. Could get used to the fa
mily getting ready to cheer Nick on, or maybe himself. He’d never been too close to anyone. And judging by the sleepless nights, sweaty palms and ticking bomb in his chest, the whole falling in love thing might kill him.

  The police and cleaners had finished up with her house, so after the match, they’d be going home. No more Nick. No more Izzy. As if they’d never been his.

  He didn’t like the hollow feeling in his stomach. They’d only been around for two days, but he would miss them. He’d never known staying home and playing board games could be more fun than going out on the scene, but it had been.

  Izzy caught his gaze and smiled tentatively. Something wicked in her gaze had him convinced she and Nick had conspired against him to win at monopoly and cards last night. He’d have to play them again to be sure.

  Though, cheating antics or no, nothing surprised him more than how easily Nick and Izzy’s tight circle of closeness expanded to include him. He hadn’t felt the sense of family in so long, he’d almost forgotten his need to belong.

  Izzy smiled at something Nick said and turned around to talk to him. Jason knew she hadn’t forgotten about Thursday or Friday, but at least she didn’t have the weary look around her eyes any more. If he’d been able to give her some peace for a couple of days, it was enough.

  When they arrived at the country club, Nick unloaded all of his equipment and headed to the locker room to join his team. He got about five feet before he came back and gave Jason a long look. “Uhm, thanks and stuff.”

  “For the practice? Any time. I should thank you. I needed the court time.”

  Nick shook his head and tossed a furtive glance toward Izzy who spoke to Jessica on the phone. “No. I meant for Mom. You kept her from losing her shit.” He sucked in a deep breath, then he looked away. “It was cool of you.”

  Jason watched Nick walk away and didn’t know what to do with the flood of emotion. One second, he’d felt good and even-keeled and in control. The next, he felt touched and emotional.

  Once Izzy hung up with Jessica, he escorted her to the stands. They found three seats for themselves and Jessica when she arrived.

  “So are you going to tell me what he said or not?” Izzy asked.

  “He just wanted to thank me for the help with his forehand volley.”

  She looked at him as if unsure whether to believe him, eventually nodding. “I’m glad he said thank you. Him being a teenager, you never know these days.”

  Jason laughed. “I’m sure he has his teenage moments, but he’s a great kid. I don’t know how you survived all by yourself.” He still couldn’t picture a barely legal Izzy trying to care for a baby, with Sabrina no kind of help at all. Plenty of women coped all the time. But for Nick and Izzy to turn out so well proved her resilience.

  “I had help.” She shrugged and opened up her program. “You would have done the same.”

  Nick’s match didn’t start till the third round, so Jason sat back to watch the matches, the adrenaline, the improvisation reminded him of his youth. A few of the players were really good. He could see their future potential in each of their strokes. One or two were completely outmatched, but these were high school players, after all.

  Midway through the second match, a commotion at the bottom of the stairs took their attention from the matches. He peeked over the edge of the stands and saw the brunette curls whisk by security. Sabrina.

  She also saw him and called out, “How’s my money maker?”

  Shit. On his right, Izzy exhaled a sharp breath. “What the hell is she doing here?”

  He needed to get rid of her before she ratted him out to Izzy. “Did you tell her we’d be here?”

  Izzy groaned. “My bad. I put his schedule on the fridge. I didn’t think she’d actually show up to one. She never has before.”

  He patted her hand. “Relax. I’ll deal with her before Nick even makes it out.”

  “Are you sure? She’s not really your problem.”

  Oh, he was sure. “I’ll be back in no time.” He maneuvered through the stands and was on Sabrina before she had a chance to protest. Wrapping a hand around her wrist, he tugged her down the stairs away from nosy eyes and ears.

  As he pulled her through the country club’s gates away from the courts, he picked up the faint hint of alcohol. It was too early in the morning for drinking. But not like he hadn’t showed up to many a meet, pores oozing alcohol.

  Once he had her in the lot, he pulled her to a stop. “What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t let the kid have one good thing?”

  She stared up at him and tried to brush past him to go back inside. “What the hell? You think because you’re playing happy family with Izzy and my son, you’re now an expert on parenting? He’s my kid, I’m going in.”

  He blocked her path. “No you’re not, Sabrina. You’ve never cared before, why would you start now?”

  She raised a hand as if to slap him, and he caught her wrist before she could make impact. His lips formed a smile, but he kept his voice flat and cool. “You think you can try the shit you pulled on Nick with me?” He released her. “You won’t like the results, Sabrina. Walk away.”

  Stricken, she stared at him. “What do you mean what I pulled on Nick?”

  Did she really think she could lie and get away with it? “I know you hit him.”

  Her eyes darted up to the stands. Typical Sabrina, worried about how to cover her own ass. “Yeah, Izzy knows too. Honestly, I’m amazed you’re still breathing. If I were her, your body would be in the middle of the desert by now.”

  She sputtered. “He pretty much called me a tramp. My own son. What the hell else should I have done? You act like Izzy never spanked him for anything. Kids like him need discipline.”

  “I think you know there’s a difference. You hit him out of anger. He’s too old to be spanked.” Confused, he asked, “You didn’t get Izzy’s messages?”

  She chewed her bottom lip. “I didn’t listen to them. I went home and saw the cops so I split. I figured she wanted to let me know not to go home.”

  Jason shook his head and made to go back to the stands. “Not your home. Leave the kid alone, Sabrina. If you don’t, you’ll deal with me.”

  Hands fisted at her sides, she yelled after him. “You know, Jase, you act awfully high and mighty considering.” She teetered and waved her arms to steady herself. “What do you think your precious Izzy would say if I told her you paid me to shut up?”

  Hot fury turned the icicles in his blood to steam. “You and I both know I only paid you because Nick is in danger. Danger you put him in. You think Izzy isn’t going to turn loose every lawyer she has available when she finds out the break-in was your doing?” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Do us both a favor. Take the money you have and walk away.”

  Her hands trembled as they grabbed at the front of his sweater. “You don’t understand. Tony, my dealer, he’s charging me interest. I need to get out from under his thumb. He’ll kill me if I don’t give him the rest of the interest.”

  “How is it you never think to walk away? You could have couriered the money to him. You chose to stick around.” He shook his head. “I’m not giving you another penny.”

  Sabrina’s pretty features contorted into something hollow and ugly. “I’ll tell her. I will. You have to give me that money.”

  “You tell her I gave you the cash, and I tell her you were behind the break-in.” He shrugged. “Looks like we’ve reached an impasse.”

  “I thought you’d do anything to protect your son.”

  He stopped, but didn’t turn around. She’s lying. “We always used a condom. I wasn’t dumb enough to touch you unprotected Sabrina.”

  She laughed. “As if they always work. Not to mention, you were too drunk and out of it to put one on.”

  “Izzy said the math was wrong.”

  “Yeah, but she doesn’t know about you coming back does she?”

  He half turned and gave her a benign smile. “Too bad you’ve already cri
ed wolf before. I know better than to believe your lies.” He left her standing there and made it back to the stands in time for the third match. He swallowed the guilt he felt when he saw Izzy’s sunny smile. He couldn’t tell her now. Soon. I’ll tell her soon.

  As the match started, he and Izzy both inched forward in their seats. He willed Nick to remember everything they’d talked about and stay relaxed.

  Nick’s first serve was firm and strong, but Michon was also quick and athletic. He chased everything Nick put over the net. Izzy watched silently, but Jason guessed by her clenched hands and the grim set of her mouth, she might be more nervous than Nick.

  Jesus. Is this how being a parent felt? Aching pit of the stomach, jumping nerves, worry over their happiness. He didn’t think he could take the stress. He never got nerves before his own matches, but now his stomach was a butterfly exhibit.

  Nick went to the net for his forehand volley, but his feet were off, so Michon was able to return the ball and win the game. The opponent was good, but Jason knew Nick was better. Nick just needed to know he was better.

  ****

  Something wasn’t right. Izzy could feel it. When Jason came up the stairs without Sabrina, she’d been so relieved, she hadn’t focused on it. But, now that the boys were taking a break, she could see the tight lines of tension around his mouth.

  “I see you came back.”

  “Of course I came back. Did you think I’d up and leave in the middle of the match?” He shook his head before she could answer. “Never mind. I think I know the answer.”

  She sighed as guilt and uncertainty washed over her. “It has nothing to do with you. Every time I see her it just does that to me. I’m sorry.”

  He might have said, “It’s okay,” but the lines of tension deepened around his mouth. She wanted to pry, but had a feeling it wouldn’t do her any good. She didn’t want to get into another fight about Sabrina during Nick’s match.

  Nick and Michon came back onto the courts and Izzy resumed her usual pose on the edge of her seat. She was so tense, she almost jumped out of her seat when she felt Jason’s hand on her back rubbing slow circles between her shoulders.