Fourth Down and Dirty: A Bad Boy Sports Romance

by Kristen Flowers

  Hayden stretched out his arm and his fingers coiled around a loose strand of my hair. I resisted the urge to close my eyes and pucker my lips like I had earlier. He pulled back and showed me something between his fingers. He had picked out a piece of somewhat large, white confetti from my hair. He hadn’t made some sort of sweet move on me. I wasn’t sure if my stomach had clenched from discomfort or disappointment. I sipped on my wine and was saved from having to say anything when Mila stopped by.

  “Are you two going to hide out here the entire party?” There was an edge of teasing suspicion in her voice. I didn’t appreciate it, but I let it slide.

  “Of course not,” I replied, ripping my gaze away from Hayden’s to look at Mila. “That would be a waste of this beautiful dress you chose for me,” I smiled.

  “Correct you are, darling,” Mila said with a smirk. She grabbed my hand and tugged me away, leading us to the main deck area where a crowd was gathered. The music and the chattering of the people on board had grown louder now. I finished up my wine with one last gulp. Mila walked me over to the bar for another glass. “There are many people you could meet here if you wanted to,” Mila said casually, sipping on her own cocktail.

  I looked around. I didn’t doubt it was the truth, but I couldn’t think of why I would want to network with this crowd. All I knew was I was glad nobody was looking at me the way others did when they realized who I looked like, or rather who looked like me. I allowed Mila to take me around, with Shiloh and Samira in tow, introducing me to a few of the more prominent figures aboard.

  “This is the lovely Alice McClane,” she started off. “She’s Hayden’s special guest.”

  “Oh? How do you know Hayden?”

  “That’s an odd story best served at another time,” I would reply comically. I didn’t miss how a few of the people looked at me in awe or shock, but they were all polite. None of them brought up Via Mace and none of them asked questions on the topic.

  “What do you do, dear?” Ethel, a woman in her early sixties, was the first to ask the question after I had dismissed the question about how I met Hayden.

  “I am a corporate travel agent,” I replied. I was used to people looking bewildered and some even asking what that meant. Ethel, however, seemed completely impassive.

  “Has he booked through you, then?”

  “Oh, no.” I laughed nervously and took a large sip of my wine, eyes roaming around the deck until they landed on Hayden. He was chatting with two other men who looked to be in their forties. He looked charming and entertaining in an effortless way. I would have never taken him to be the man who created Mind Lash, much less Via Mace. It was as if the man on the yacht and the man I had researched earlier and met in his office were two different men. They were worlds apart. Was I starting to get to know the real Hayden Dunn?

  “Oh,” I heard Ethel say.

  I turned to find Mila, Shiloh, and Samira giggling silently as Ethel nodded knowingly. She had been looking at me as I watched Hayden. I felt my face flush and I felt desperate to explain away my behavior because this woman had clearly gotten the wrong impression.

  “Ethel,” I said in a strained voice.

  “Not to worry, dear,” Ethel said with a kind smile. She placed a gentle hand on my arm and smiled reassuringly before walking off to mingle with the others.

  I was mortified. I was at an exclusive party on a yacht, now sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge, and I had just been called out for liking Hayden Dunn– the very man I had practically stalked to call him out. All of this, I supposed, had been an effort on his behalf to subdue my humiliation and anger, but I hadn’t been able give in until now. Despite that and the fact that it had been a wonderful evening, I realized I wasn’t over the whole Via Mace debacle.

  It would take a lot more than a helicopter ride and a party on a yacht to make me move past everything. Even if I described the night as magical it wasn’t enough. Off of the boat and out there in the real world, Hayden Dunn’s video game vixen was taking over the internet and getting even more famous. I couldn’t stand for that and somehow I would have to put an end to it.

  But as I turned to look at Hayden, his eyes caught mine. He let a big, warm grin take over his face as we stared at each other from across the boat.

  In that moment, I felt more conflicted than ever.

  Chapter 6-Bad Idea

  The driver dropped us off at Hayden’s house and for a moment I wasn’t sure why I was even there. The night was over and I should’ve been dropped off at home, but a part of me didn’t mind. The truth was, I wanted to spend a little more time with him. I leaned against the wall of the foyer, still feeling a little buzz from all of the drinks at the party. Hayden shut the front door and slowly turned around to face me.

  “Well, now that we’re alone I suppose we can talk.” He said as he walked a little closer to me. I watched him close the distance between us and all I could think about was how Via Mace came to be.

  “So did you just make her up out of thin air?”

  “Who? Via?”

  “Yes.” I said, straightening up against the wall.

  “Yeah I did. I just-” He paused for a moment as if he had just caught himself saying something he would have regretted.

  “You just what?”

  He looked at me with a warm smile and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down with a nervous swallow. He was usually so suave and confident, but now he seemed a little shook up. For a moment I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Was there actually a softer side to Hayden Dunn? I watched his eyes carefully as he debated whether or not to tell me what he was thinking.

  “I modeled her after what I thought the most beautiful woman in the world would look like.” Once he admitted what was on his mind, the confident Hayden Dunn was back. His baby blue eyes studied me as the corner of his lip turned up in a smirk.

  My eyes locked onto his for a brief moment. He watched me closely as my face slowly lit up with a huge grin.

  Then I burst in to laughter.

  “Shut the hell up!” I laughed, slapping him on the chest and covering my mouth as my face blushed a crimson red.

  “I’m serious!” He snorted back. I barely noticed his hand landing on my hip to give me a playful shove. It sounded like the cheesiest line I had ever heard. If any other guy had said it, I wouldn’t have believed them. But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered why shouldn’t I believe him?

  Hayden had probably spent hours upon hours getting the look of Via Mace just right. In many ways he had staked his whole career on the success of Mind Lash. Why wouldn’t he have modeled the character after what he thought the most beautiful woman in the world would look like? As I stood there laughing and thinking more about what he had said, my face somehow managed to turn an even brighter red. Does that mean he really thought I was the most beautiful woman in the world?

  He cocked his head left then right, eyes squinting, as if he were studying me in an exaggerated way. “Although come to think of it, I don’t think you look much like her.”

  “Oh I don’t do I?” I giggled.

  “Nope, I think your ears are bigger.” He said as he reached up and lightly brushed a few strands of my hair away to get a better look. His fingertips sent tiny tingles down the back of my neck.

  “My ears are not bigger!”

  He paused for a moment before he grabbed the bottom of my ear and pulled it out and away from my head. “Yes they are. Via has small shapely ears; you have big Dumbo ears.”

  “Dumbo ears!” I yelped with a smile as I tried to push his chest. He held onto me tightly and didn’t let me push him away even an inch. “Dumbo? The cartoon elephant?”

  “Yeah, big floppy Dumbo ears.” He teased. I hadn’t even noticed his hand snake around my hip to pull me closer. In our playful back-and-forth banter somehow we had managed to completely close the distance with each other.

  My laughter and smiles faded the moment I realized my lips were nearly touching his. My heart h
ammered inside my chest. No. I couldn’t do this. Everything inside of me screamed to push him away and walk out of there.

  But I didn’t want to.

  His touch was warm and gentle. He held me a little closer around the waist as I closed my eyes and craned my neck up towards him. His hand delicately slipped around my neck and cradled the back of my head as he pulled me closer.

  My world was completely shattered the moment my lips touched his. My knees felt weak and for a second I thought I was about to fall, but he kept me standing and held me tight with his arm wrapped around my waist. He pressed forward a little more as he deepened the kiss. I had practically stopped breathing as my blood pumped with thrill, excitement, and fear. Were we really about to do this?

  The palm of his hand brushed down the side of my thigh, making my leg tremble. I leaned in a little closer to him. His scent filled the air around me and I imagined his hot skin against mine. The thought sent eagerness pulsing through my body. I widened my mouth for his tongue to dance around mine.

  My breath grew heavy and rapid as I sucked in air through my nose. He inched a little closer until my back hit the wall with a light thud. Now I was pinned between his hips and the wall behind me, clutching at his shoulders the whole time.

  My mind raced at the speed of light. This couldn’t really be happening. This was a bad idea.

  His fingers curled the bottom of my dress up, revealing my skin for his touch. I quivered and felt a teasing pulse of need between my legs.

  This really was happening.

  He broke our kiss and gently held my head off to the side so he could leave a path of kisses down the side of my neck. I let out a whimpering breath as his wet kisses cooled in the air. His hips pushed against me a little more and I felt his bulge press against my waist. Clawing and clutching at his hips, I pulled him closer to me. I wanted to feel more of him.

  I shouldn’t be doing this! I pushed him away and broke our kiss just long enough to see him stare at me with worry. His eyes said it all. He wanted to make sure I was okay and he didn’t want to cross any boundaries.

  My eyes flicked up and down and across his face as I admired his baby blue eyes staring back at me. I could still feel him pressed against my waist and it sent a tiny bolt of thrill up my back.

  My mind thought back to everything this man had caused in my life. He was the reason my life had been turned upside down. Why did he manage to make my heart thump so hard—even before his sexy-self was pressed up against me and making my knees wobble. There was just something about him. It was like he was every emotion I could ever feel wrapped up and personified in one sexy man.

  Anger? Lust? Something deeper than lust?

  It didn’t matter. I was going to push all those feeling and emotions down deep. I’d deal with them later.

  In that moment I only wanted one thing.

  “Fuck it.” I whispered as I reached up and pulled his lips back to mine. I melted in to his kiss. I felt lightheaded and my breathing stuttered as he broke away from the kiss and nuzzled against my ear.

  “Follow me.” He whispered hot and heavy against my skin. I clutched at him for a brief moment as he tore away from me and grabbed my hand. He gave me a little devilish smirk as he turned around and pulled me by the hand. I followed him down the hallway until he opened one of the doors and pulled me inside.

  I swallowed nervously. This must have been his bedroom. He pulled my hand, spun me around, and playfully tossed me onto the bed. I let out a small giggle as the soft comforter bunched up around me as I fell back onto it. In a flash he had unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it to the ground. My eyes traced over his immaculate body. My gaze locked onto his rock hard abs with a crevice down the middle that I could lick. His chest was toned to perfection with broad shoulders. He wasn’t a muscular meat head by any means. But considering his toned swimmer’s build body; he clearly knew how to take care of himself.

  As his shirt fell to the floor he stared at me for a moment, as if he were admiring a piece of art on his bed. He gave me a quivered smile. Was he actually nervous? The Hayden Dunn? I couldn’t blame him. My breath had practically stopped and my heart felt like it was both thundering inside my chest and completely still.

  My thoughts were interrupted the moment he fell onto the bed on top of me. My hips rolled against him as he pinned my body against the bed with a kiss. My arms wrapped around him and my hands roamed the hot skin of his back. He started to move down my body, kissing my neck and my collarbone until he planted his wet lips on the top swell of my breast.

  I sucked in a deep breath, arched my back, and pressed my chest against his wondering kisses. I was panting and heaving and trembling with fire and need. He leaned up just enough to look me dead in the eyes. In an instant I was lost in his blue gaze. His mouth turned up in to a little smirk as he moved farther down my shivering body. I rolled my hips against him, and feathered my fingers through his hair, until he settled his chest between my legs. His hand reached up and grazed over my breast. I could already feel my nipple peak underneath my dress.

  I let out a heavy sigh as he pushed the hem of my dress up my legs. I lifted my butt off of the bed so he could push the dress up and over my hips. He stared at my wet panties for a moment with a smirk as I practically clawed at the top of the bed with anticipation. This was starting to be too much for me. He stooped down and planted a wet kiss on the inside of my thigh, making me jump from the sudden sensation. With that he hooked his fingers around the sides of my panties and pulled them down my legs, throwing them back on the floor the moment they left my feet.

  My legs quaked and trembled as the air kissed the wetness between my thighs. My breath had all but stopped and my heart thumped and throbbed in my ears. I was completely naked and exposed to him now. His hands rubbed up and down my legs as he admired every inch of my body. There was something different about the way he looked at me. He looked at me with care and attention—as if he were appreciating every detail and tiny flaw on my skin.

  He leaned back down for another kiss between my thighs, this time a little higher. I widened my legs and reached down to feel my fingers swim inside his dark hair. His kisses trailed up my thigh, leaving tiny prickles and goosebumps in their wake. The moment he stopped above me, heating my wetness with his breath, was the moment my heart really did stop. Everything felt silent and still as he sucked in a deep breath through his nose and took in my scent. My anticipation and excitement was at an all-time high. My body practically buzzed.

  I looked down between my legs to see his baby blue gaze looking up at me. He was loving the passion written all over my face. The feelings coursing through me were so strong I could barely contain myself. I tried to rock my hips up and force myself to meet his mouth, but he quickly pushed them back down and held me still. With that, his tongue finally moved against me. My back shot up into an arch as a twist of energy made its way up my spine. His tongue traced and tickled up my lips, teasing me with gentle circles.

  I gasped and clawed at the comforter the moment he slipped a finger inside of me. My hips rolled against his mouth and my eyes clenched shut when he eased another finger inside, curling in just the right way. His free hand brushed its way up my stomach and over my ribs until he found my breast. I trembled and shook as he snaked his hand underneath my dress and felt my nipple budding against his palm.

  Just then, his tongue flicked a little faster. My leg jolted and quaked as his fingers curled and pushed. He wasn’t going to slow down. He was spurred on by the heavy pants and the tiny whimpers escaping my lungs. His tongue lapped and circled around my sensitive spot as he matched the rhythm of my rocking hips.

  I was close and he knew it.

  His hand squeezed my breast a little more, gently tweaking my nipple between his thumb and finger. My hips bucked. His fingers drew back and pushed forward. His tongue darted and flicked. My nails clawed at his scalp and my hand slapped to my side, bunching up the covers in a fist.

  In an instant hot tingles
cascaded down my legs. I forced myself harder against his mouth as a deep breath stilled inside my throat. My thighs clamped around his face and his five o’clock shadow scrapped rough against my skin. I didn’t care, I felt like I was floating as my body swam in a sea of feelings.

  My head fell back as my lungs finally managed to draw in a deep breath. As soon as I gained my composer I sat up with excitement.

  A devilish smirk formed across my face. “My turn.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the bed. He laid back and quickly started unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants. I leaned down and planted a soft kiss just above his waistline. Hayden hissed through his teeth as I felt him—rock hard and ready—underneath his pants.

  I glanced up at him with a smile as I reached inside his pants. The moment my hand touched his hardness my breath went still. He felt big; pulsing and hard against my palm. I tugged his pants down a little and pulled him out. He was much bigger than I had anticipated, even after feeling him throb against my hand. His head fell back and his eyes clamped shut as I stooped down and traced my tongue along him.