Team Player: A Sports Romance Anthology

by Adriana Locke

  “Fuck yes, baby. Come for me. Now.”

  Her walls clamped down on me as she screamed my name, her hands coming up to grab my ass and pull me even deeper while she pulsed around me. I only managed one more thrust, and then I buried my cock deep inside her pussy as I came. Jets of come burst from my body, spilling out of her and onto the sheets. When I was done, my body felt like it was wrung dry. I reluctantly pulled out and collapsed on the mattress next to her. We were both panting, our bodies covered with a light sheen of sweat.

  “You’re sleeping in the wet spot,” she giggled, rolling into my side.

  “Who said anything about sleeping?”

  She leaned up on an elbow and smiled down at me. “No rest for the wicked?”

  “If so, you must’ve been a naughty girl because I plan on keeping you up all night.”

  She laughed and reached over to grab the phone off the nightstand. “I’d better order us some dinner then. We’ll need it to keep up our energy.”

  “I could eat,” I answered, trailing my fingertips up her stockings.

  She slapped my hand away. “Food and a shower first. Then we’ll see if you still have enough energy left over to go for another round.”

  I slid my palm around the base of her skull and pulled her close to claim her lips. When I was done, I rolled off the mattress and padded to the bathroom. “Challenge accepted, baby. I’ll hop in the shower now so I’m ready to eat as soon as room service gets here. And then you’d better be ready for me.”

  “Promises, promises,” she giggled.

  Three hours later, those promises were fulfilled and she didn’t have the energy left to laugh.

  “Damn, I totally forgot that you were supposed to get whatever you wanted since you scored a goal,” she murmured.

  I shifted her in my arms to look down at her sleepy face, lids half closed as though she could barely keep them open. Dropping a kiss against her cheek, I whispered, “You didn’t need to remember, baby. You already gave me exactly what I wanted.”

  “I did? Was it lots and lots of hot hotel room sex?”

  “No, it was you, Tamara. Just you.”

  She fell asleep with a smile on her lips, and as I held her tight I promised myself I’d figure out a way to ensure it was a sight I got to see for the rest of my life.

  Chapter 12

  Tamara

  The past two weeks with Ryan had been both amazing and frustrating. Since his season was over, his schedule was wide open. But mine? Not so much. I had less than seven months until the Olympic trials in Utah, and my mom was putting pressure on me to move out there early for training. I’d sidestepped the issue a couple of times, but she wasn’t going to let me avoid it much longer. Just that morning, she forwarded information for an apartment complex and two different rental houses within a few miles of the arena in Utah.

  I needed to figure out where I wanted to live, and fast. It wasn’t a decision I could make by myself, though. Not when Ryan factored into it so much. I wasn’t a shy person normally, but I was having a difficult time bringing the topic up to Ryan. I only had the apartment the Cavaliers had rented for me for one more week, so I needed to pull up my big girl panties and ask Ryan if he wanted me to stay. But that had to wait until he came back from his trip to Vegas.

  Rolling over on my bed, I yanked a pillow over my head and screamed into it. “I’m such an idiot. Why the hell didn’t I just go with him?”

  Jason and Cee-Cee had decided to get married there. It wasn’t a normal elopement, though. They were getting married in a fancy hotel Jason’s mom had lined up for them, and a big group of their friends and family were all going to be there. Ryan had wanted me to come with him as his date, and Cee-Cee had also called to make sure I was more than welcome to join them.

  The timing was worse than shit for me since I had two friends from the US Speed Skating team in town for the week so we could train together. I couldn’t exactly bail on them after I’d extended the invitation. They thought it was cool as hell that we’d been able to set up the short track on the Cavaliers’ rink. And they’d given me a hard time for dating one of the players since I’d always been adamant about not hooking up with athletes because they were conceited jerks.

  “I miss my conceited jerk,” I mumbled as I turned over again.

  My friends had left that morning, and Ryan wasn’t due back until the next afternoon. The wedding had been this morning, and other than a quick phone call from Ryan after the ceremony I hadn’t heard from him again. “The big jerk is having fun in Vegas and probably doesn’t even miss me, while I’m alone here wondering what’s next for our relationship.”

  I jerked upright, clutching the sheets to my chest when I thought I heard a noise in the living room. I sat stock-still, straining to listen in case I was imagining things. But then I heard it again, and I quietly slid off the mattress on the side away from the bedroom door and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. I hit the nine and one button, and as I was getting ready to press the one again my door swung open and I heard a familiar male voice whisper, “You awake, baby?”

  “You scared the shit out of me!” I yelled, jumping to my feet.

  “Fuck, sorry.” He rounded the bed and pulled me into his arms. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “It’s okay. I should have at least guessed that it could have been you since you’re the only person other than me who has a key, instead of freaking out and assuming it was a robber.” I tilted my head back to peer into his face. His hazel eyes were bloodshot, his hair was mussed, and his beard was extra scruffy. But he still looked sexy enough to melt my panties. “What’re doing back? I thought your flight wasn’t until tomorrow.”

  “It was, but I changed it.” His hold on me tightened.

  “Why? Are you okay?”

  “I missed you.” I felt his lips press against the top of my head. “I’m fantastic, now that I’ve got you in my arms.”

  “Missed you, too,” I murmured against his chest.

  We stood there, holding each other tight without saying anything else for several minutes. “C’mon, get out of your clothes and come to bed.”

  I stepped away, fixing the sheets and blankets while he stripped down to his boxers. He climbed in first, piling my pillows behind his back. When I crawled in next to him, he settled me against his chest and tangled our legs together.

  “How was the trip?”

  “Surprising,” he chuckled, his chest vibrating underneath my cheek.

  “It sounds like there’s a story behind that.” I traced a heart shape with my fingertip on his abs. “Give me the details.” I gently yanked on his hair at his chest. “Or else.”

  “Ouch.” He wrapped his hand around mine. “You don’t have to torture me to get me to talk.”

  “Then spill it, Forrester.”

  “Let’s see,” he drawled. “Cee-Cee and Jason ducked out of their co-wed bachelorette party early because she’s knocked up and needed her rest.”

  “Yes!” I cried, tilting my head back to look up at him and flashing him a big smile. “My guess was right. I’m so happy for them.”

  “How’d you know? Nobody else did.”

  “I didn’t know know. But when we were in Pittsburg for your last playoff game, she wasn’t feeling great and I put one plus one together and came up with a possible pregnancy.”

  “Smartypants,” he teased, slipping inside my pajama pants to palm my ass. His hazel eyes darkened when he encountered bare skin instead of panties.

  “Focus, babe. The old saying about stuff that happens in Vegas doesn’t hold true when you go there without me. I need the rest of the gossip before you’re getting lucky.”

  “Fine, but you’re getting the Cliff Notes version,” he grumbled. “Alec wanted to hit the Strip when Jason and Cee-Cee called it a night. Josie and Andrew bailed, too. So I was stuck hitting some clubs with Alec.”

  “Stuck,” I snorted.

  “Yes, stuck,” he echoed. “Because it just made m
e miss you even more. I wasn’t in the mood to drink or party, so I headed back to the hotel early and ended up missing all the excitement.”

  I propped my chin on his chest and made my very best puppy dog eyes at him. “What kind of trouble did Alec get into? Was he arrested? Did you have to bail him out of jail so he didn’t miss the wedding?”

  “Nope, he made the wedding alright.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Two of them.”

  I jolted up, my jaw dropping while I stared at him. “Whose else got married?”

  “Alec.”

  “Shut up!” I shrieked as I bounced on the mattress. “You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?”

  “I wish I was,” he sighed. “Had I known that Alec was going to have such a wild night that it ended with him marrying some chick he’d just met, I would have sucked it up and stayed with him to at least try to be the voice of reason. But I didn’t know, so I got to meet his new wife at Jason and Cee-Cee’s wedding instead.”

  “Whoa,” I breathed. “Now I wish I’d kicked my friends out a day early and met up with you guys instead. I can’t believe I missed all that.”

  “In a way, I’m glad you weren’t able to make it.”

  I hadn’t been expecting our playful conversation to head in that direction, and I slumped over in disbelief. My hurt must have shown in my expression because Ryan gathered me close. “It’s not that I wouldn’t have loved to hang out with you in Vegas, baby. I would. More than anything.”

  “Then why in the world were you happy I wasn’t there?”

  “Because it opened my eyes to how much I missed you.” He pulled me onto his lap. “The only other times we’ve been in different cities since we started dating was for road trips when you weren’t able to make it. I missed you during those, too. But this was different because I wasn’t distracted by hockey. It was just me with my friends, feeling like I’d left a part of me back home.”

  The hurt was washed away, replaced by fierce joy. “And I’m the missing part of you?”

  “You are.”

  “Because you love me?” I whispered.

  “Yes.”

  A huge grin spread across my face. “Could you maybe tell me instead of just saying yes?”

  “Only if you say it back.”

  “Together on three?”

  “Sure,” he chuckled.

  “Three.”

  I took a deep breath. “Two.”

  And another. “One.”

  I tossed myself into his arms as we shared in unison, “I love you.”

  This countdown wasn’t a race, but we both came out winners in the end.

  Epilogue

  Ryan

  I never thought I’d be happy to break a bone, but damn if I wasn’t thrilled with the timing of my broken right hand. It put me on the injured reserve list, with an estimated four-week recovery period, smack dab in the middle of the winter Olympics. I would have been pissed, except it meant that I could hop a plane to South Korea to surprise Tamara.

  Finding a flight had been more difficult than I anticipated, and it pushed back my arrival until the morning of her five-hundred-meter race. I hated that I missed her win the gold medal in the thousand meter four days earlier, but I’d had a game in Minnesota that night and watched it on television after I got home. The time difference had made it hard for us to Skype each other, but we’d sent what felt like a million texts back and forth since she left more than three weeks ago. It had been the longest time we’d spent apart, and my bed felt empty without her. The whole apartment did since I’d quickly grown used to sharing space with her since she moved in with me the day after I came home from Vegas after Jason and Cee-Cee’s wedding.

  “Ryan!”

  I searched the crowd in front of the arena and spotted Tamara’s mom, Tatiana. She was waving at me frantically, and I hurried towards her.

  “Hurry,” she urged me forward after a swift hug. “I haven’t told her you’re here. I did not want to distract her before the race since we couldn’t be sure you would arrive before it started. But I know she will want you there when she comes off the ice.”

  Tatiana’s words were hard to follow because her accent was thicker than usual, something I’d noticed happened when her emotions ran high since I’d had the chance to get to know her well when she moved to Chicago to help with Tamara’s training.

  How Tatiana got her hands on a ticket for me, I’d never know because her lips were sealed. But I would be forever grateful because we made it inside and down near the ice just as Tamara’s race began. I got to watch her skate faster than I’d ever seen her go before—and faster than any of the other skaters there. She earned another gold medal, and this time I was there to cheer her on as she took the top place on the podium.

  Later that night, I settled her on the edge of the mattress in the privacy of our hotel room. She was still dressed in her Team USA uniform, with two gold medals hanging from her neck, when I got down on one knee in front of her.

  I pulled a two-karat diamond engagement ring in a gold setting out of my pocket and held it up for her to see. “I was thinking, as long as you’re adding more gold to your collection, maybe you’d like to wear this too.”

  “Oh my God,” she cried, tears leaking from her beautiful brown eyes.

  “You’re going to have to help me out here, baby. Is that a yes?”

  “Yes!” she shouted, scooting off the bed to fall into my arms. I slid the ring onto her finger and admired how it looked there for a moment before claiming her lips in a brutal kiss that quickly led to a naked celebration of her win and our engagement...thirteen months to the day since our first night together. Lucky number thirteen, just like my jersey.

  Curious about Jason and Cee-Cee’s story? You can read all about them in Checked Into Love. Or start out with the first Bachelorette Party series story, Sucked Into Love. Also, Alec’s story is available for pre-order...Married Into Love.

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  Also by Rochelle Paige

  BLYTHE COLLEGE SERIES

  Push the Envelope

  Hit the Wall

  Summer Nights (novella duo)

  Outside the Box

  Winter Wedding (novella)

  BACHELORETTE PARTY SERIES

  Sucked Into Love

  Mixed Into Love

  Checked Into Love

  CRISIS SERIES

  Identity Crisis

  Protection Crisis

  FATED MATES (BLACK RIVER PACK & McMAHON CLAN)

  Crying Wolf

  Shoot for the Moon

  Thrown to the Wolves

  Bear the Consequences

  Bear It All

  Bear the Burden

  Ask for the Moon

  BODY & SOUL SERIES

  Bare Your Soul

  Save Your Soul

  Sell Your Soul

  Feed Your Soul

  STANDALONES

  Star Pupil

  About the Author

  I absolutely adore reading—always have and always will. When I was growing up, my friends used to tease me when I would trail after them, trying to read and walk at the same time. If I have downtime, odds are you will find me reading or writing.

  I am the mother of two wonderful sons who have inspired me to chase my dream of being an author. I want them to learn from me that you can live your dream as long as you are willing to work for it.

  Connect with me online:

  www.rochellepaige.com

  BACK IN THE GAME

  Copyright 2017 Meghan Quinn

  Chapter 1

  CALDER

  “No, daddy, like this.” Shea repositions the tiara on my head. “You can’t wear it sideways like that, you have to show off your jewels.”

  “Showing off daddy’s jewels could get him in trouble. That’s called indecent exposure, sweetie.”

  “Huh?” Shea’s head tilts to the side, a pull in her brow.

  “
Never mind.” I clear my throat and take a look at myself in the reflection of my car window.

  Tiara . . . check.

  Showing off the jewels (tiara jewels, that is) . . . check.

  Pink scarf wrapped around at nipple height and tied like a bow . . . check.

  Purple sparkly fairy wings strapped around my bulky shoulders . . . check.

  Looks like I’m ready for lunch with my daughter. Let’s just pray there aren’t any super fans in the area, because I’m a walking Instagram story right about now. Although . . .

  I squat down next to my daughter and pull out my phone. Opening up the Instagram app, I go to my stories and turn the camera so it’s facing me.

  “Want to do a story with me, Shea?”

  “Yeah!” She claps vigorously.

  I press record and bring Shea closer to my side. “Off to lunch with this beautiful girl today. Fairy wings and tiara are on, I’m dad-ing hard right now. Blow a kiss.” She blows a kiss right before I stop recording.

  “What is dad-ing hard?” She asks, twirling around in her pink, sparkly tutu.

  “Eh, don’t worry about it.” I share my story and pocket my phone. “Grab daddy’s hand. We have some food to eat.”

  I open the door to the restaurant for my little girl and usher her in, unfazed by the looks I’m getting. This isn’t the first time I’m dressed as Wanda the Fairy. Yup, I have a name and everything. I would do pretty much anything for Shea, not just because she’s my daughter and I love her more than anything, but because she hasn’t had the easiest life. Her mom, who we won’t speak of much, took off after one month of being Shea’s mom. She now lives in France, where she travels with her violinist boyfriend. We were never going to be a couple, ever—that shipped sailed after our one-night stand—so I’m not hurt about her being with someone else, but what makes me want to choke some sense into the woman is the way she totally abandoned her daughter. Especially since I play professional hockey for a living, and my schedule is demanding and hectic. It would have been nice to have her mom available to help out. Thankfully, my brother and his wife are there for me when I’m out of town.