“We’re trying to figure this out,” I reminded him.
“Right.”
I picked at a waffle on another plate and took a bite. Breakfast food in the middle of the night was the best.
“If I’m caught with you, I lose my job and am no longer on the Warriors payroll.”
“We’ve covered that.”
I looked at him. “But you don’t seem to care, since you make a million dollars and I barely make forty-thousand a year.”
“Then let me pay you.”
My eyes widened. “Like a hooker?”
“Okay, bad idea.”
“Very.”
He picked up a piece of bacon. “And you can’t get another job?”
“Can you?”
“It’s different. I’m in my dream job. And you aren’t.”
I lowered my eyes. “But I will be again. I need to make it to March when I can audition for the troupe again.”
“Darlin’, it’s October.”
“We can do this for six months, right?” I fidgeted with the waffle. I didn’t want to tell him I was financially strapped and I wasn’t going to beg my family for money. That wasn’t an option for me. I could make it on my own dancing.
Besides, the last month had been more fun than the entire summer of training. I was starting to see why the other girls loved it so much.
“Sneak around? Pretend we’re not sleeping together?”
I nodded. “Yes, exactly that.”
He laughed. “I’d rather not. I want you when I want you, and this is fucking inconvenient.”
“It’s not going to be convenient ever.” I realized this was going to be a disaster. We couldn’t have an actual relationship.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you’re always going to be a Wrangler. And that means practice, games, and press events.”
“So?”
“So, I’m going back to the ballet and that means performances, traveling, and practices as well. We won’t ever be in the same city. Maybe we should agree that tonight is the last time.” I felt a lump in my throat.
“Hell, no. I don’t give up that easily.”
“It’s not giving up. It’s being practical, Sam. A ballerina and a football player? This isn’t a movie. It’s not going to work. The sex might be amazing, but what do we have when the sex is over?”
He sat forward. “That’s the part we figure out together.”
I didn’t expect that answer. “What?”
He ran his finger through the bowl of whipped cream and coated my nipples. They hardened under his touch.
“Sam… this isn’t going to solve our problem.”
But my head reeled back as his lips sealed over one nipple and sucked before clamping onto the other one, licking them clean of the whipped cream.
He reached for the bowl a second time, and slathered my entire breasts. I laid back on the sheets as he licked and sucked.
“Sam,” I whimpered.
“You feel it, don’t you?” He studied my eyes.
I nodded.
My breasts were sticky from the whipped cream, but my skin glowed with anticipation for what he’d do next.
“Then we’ll figure it out,” he explained. He hovered over me and I had a hard time imagining I could tell him no. But there was no logic to this. How could we possibly work?
“But…”
“Shh.” He pressed a finger to my lips. “You have to leave in an hour and I want to fuck you so you know there will be a next time.”
“I want a next time.”
“Me too.”
“Sam?”
“Hmm?”
His hands slid over my slit and I sighed. “That position earlier.”
“The one on your stomach?” He flicked over my clit and I jerked.
“Yes, that one.” I breathed. “I’d never tried it before.”
He pushed my knees to the side and settled over me. “It’s called the dragon, baby.”
Holy hell. I looked at the dragon emblazoned on his arm and wanted to ask the most obvious question, but I pulled him toward me as my legs fell open and he plunged deep inside me. I bowed off the bed.
We had an hour together, and suddenly I knew what Sam meant by proving there was a next time.
19
Sam
I held her against my chest. I didn’t want to let her walk out of the door.
“I’ll call you when we get back to Austin.”
I kissed her lips, drinking in the sweetness I was now addicted to. “Good.”
“I have to go or Heather is going to get suspicious.” She tried to free herself, but I refused to let go. “She already knows about what happened between us last time.”
“Five more minutes,” I pleaded.
She laughed. “No, you had your five more minutes already.”
True. She had given me a fucking awesome blowjob. She said it was a parting gift.
“I like that kind of five minutes. I want another one.”
“Really, I have to get back to the room. I need a couple hours of sleep before the photo shoot too.”
I let my hands fall to my sides so she could walk out of my arms, but she stayed another second looking into my eyes.
“This is crazy,” she said.
I shrugged. “Crazy is what we did the last few hours. Wanting to keep doing it isn’t crazy at all.”
She shoved me.
I laughed. She was adventurous in bed and I fucking loved it. Talking about it, however, didn’t seem to be her strong suit.
“I’ll see you this week.”
She looked up. “I still think it’s going to be a bad idea to see each other.”
“It’s a ninety-minute drive. I will be there. We just have to figure out our schedules. We can do this, Natalia.”
“But the Warriors have a home game and then we travel the next week to the DC Sharks.
“Damn, I forgot they played the Sharks next week. I mean, you play the Sharks.”
It was going to take some getting used to that I was seeing a girl who worked for the Warriors. She wasn’t completely wrong about the implications it would have for us. My job wasn’t at stake, but I didn’t think it would go over well with the fans if they knew I was hooking up with a Goddess. I was trying to ignore all that noise and focus on her. On us. On what I needed to get through this season. She was what I needed.
“Yes, and we have another road game the next week. I’m basically gone half of October.”
I took her by the shoulders. “Don’t worry. I will see you this week.”
She chewed her lower lip. “I want that more than anything. I do.”
“Then don’t say anything else. I’ll make it happen. Now get back to your room, before the tattletale rats you out.”
She reached up on her toes to kiss me. “Bye.”
“Bye.”
I closed the door behind her and walked back to the bed. It was covered in whipped cream and smelled like us, but I fell on top of it and slept for hours.
* * *
That same day I checked out of the suite around noon. My phone had been blowing up. The team was pissed I missed the Dean. I was going to have to come up with some story that didn’t include Natalia.
No one would believe I’d turn down the kind of girls at that party for one of my own. It didn’t work like that. At the very least, I probably should have shown up for a few minutes. But after the game, instead of getting ready for the Dean, I tracked down the Goddesses’ hotel.
And when the elevator doors opened and I saw Natalia, there was no way I was headed to a different party. She was all the party I needed.
I pulled my hoodie over my head and found my car in the garage under the hotel. I had meant every word I said to her in the doorway. I was headed to Austin this week. I would see her and we would figure this out.
I had let her get away once before and I wasn’t going to let it happen again.
20
Nata
lia
It must have been the post-sex glow, but everyone kept asking me what new skin care products I used for the photo shoot.
I laughed them off. “I’ve been drinking a ton of water,” I explained.
Heather eyed me. She was next to me in the row. We were standing on a bridge over the river. “Really?”
“Really,” I responded.
“Nothing else?”
“Nope.” I smiled at the camera. God, I couldn’t remember being this happy. Every part of me felt light and airy. It was strange and unique. It reminded me of how I used to feel on stage. That feeling of euphoria as the prima ballerina.
The photographer asked us to pose for a few more shots and then he called it a wrap. I jogged down the stairs. Heather was on my heels.
“I didn’t hear you come in last night,” she snickered.
She was already at breakfast when I snuck into the room.
“I stayed out longer than I thought—you know, catching up.” I twisted the cap off a bottle of water. This would help with my water story.
“Catching up with your cousin?”
I nodded. “Yep, with my cousin.”
“Hope you had a good time.”
I grinned. “I did. It was amazing.”
There was no way anyone saw Sam and me together. I wasn’t worried there was evidence, but it didn’t mean Heather wasn’t suspicious. And she would keep poking and prodding until she was satisfied.
The same thing had happened at training camp with another one of the new girls. As the captain, Heather felt compelled to know where we were at all times. One girl was constantly late to practice and her excuses piled up. One morning she blamed a faulty hair dryer. Another day she said she lost her shoes. By the third morning, Heather started tailing her and found out she was sneaking her boyfriend into our squad rooms for the night and seeing him off again in the morning. That girl was released from the team and replaced with someone on the waiting list.
“Sorry I missed movie night with you. But my cousin popped in and it couldn’t be helped.”
“Of course not. We’ll do it another time.” She waved her hand in the air. “It’s fine.”
But there was something gnawing at me that said it wasn’t fine. I didn’t know whether she was upset I blew her off for my imaginary cousin, or if she had a theory my cousin was Sam.
* * *
I turned the lights on in my apartment and looked around. I had been gone a day, but it felt different. I felt different. I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone. Sam’s number was at the top. I hit send and waited for him to answer.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
I smiled and felt the giddiness of butterflies in my belly. I missed him already.
“I’m home.”
“That’s too bad. I wish you were still in San Antonio.”
“Me too,” I whispered. I sat on the couch.
“I was thinking I could drive up Friday after practice. We don’t practice on Saturdays and we have a home game Sunday. I can make it back to San Antonio with plenty of time.”
“That could work. But I do have practice Saturday morning.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep your bed warm for you until you get back.”
I felt the stirring sensation in my core. Holy hell. I hadn’t thought what it would be like to have Sam here in my apartment, or in my bed. Suddenly Friday seemed like an eternity.
“Promise?”
“I do.”
I smiled. I could get used to this. Sexy conversations on the phone. Torrid nights that no one knew about. There was a thrill to the secrecy that I was starting to like.
“What are you going to do for the rest of the night?” I asked. I didn’t know much about Sam’s life other than he played football.
“Probably watch footage for the Sunday game.”
“Oh.” Maybe there wasn’t more to him than football. I felt a slight sinking feeling.
“And probably make some dinner.”
“Do you cook?”
“Yes, I cook. Do you cook?”
“No. I’m the worst cook.” I ate cereal and salads. Anything with more directions and I would burn it.
“Then good thing you met me. I’m basically a chef. Should have gone to culinary school.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He chuckled. “There’s not as much money in whipping up a mean pasta as there is in catching a leather ball.”
“I keep forgetting.”
“I like that you forget. You don’t give a shit I play football, do you?”
I shook my head. “Not at all.”
“And you know I don’t care you’re on a dance team, right?”
“I do know that.”
“Good, because it doesn’t matter to me. But I was thinking about something today after you left.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I want to see you dance.”
“You’ve seen me.”
“No, not like that. The way you love dance. I want to see the ballerina Natalia.”
He took my breath away. I had old dance videos and piles of audition DVDs, but that wasn’t what he was talking about.
“You really want to see me dance?”
“Yeah, I bet you’re beautiful out there.”
And I knew he didn’t mean the same way as when I was a Goddess, shaking my ass for everyone to see.
“I’ll dance for you.”
I was already choreographing something in my head to show him.
“I have to go pick up the film for tonight. But I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Good night, Natalia.”
“Good night.”
I hung up and stared at the phone. I had no idea this was going to happen, but I felt as if we had officially waltzed right into a relationship.
21
Sam
The drive to Austin wasn’t bad. It gave me ninety minutes to crank up the music and drive. Texas roads were wide and the speed limit let me go almost as fast as I wanted.
There were a lot of things to think about other than the lyrics blaring from my speakers. Two nights with this woman and I had decided to break my first rule of the season. But it seemed better this way. Since Sunday night, I’d had incredible practices all week. I hadn’t dropped a single ball or missed any tackles. Even Wes commented on my concentration.
With Natalia in my life, I wasn’t as distracted. I wasn’t thinking about where she could be, or what she was doing. All I had to do was pick up the damn phone and call her. It was as if being with her had calmed everything down again. She was some kind of drug for me. I got my focus back. I was the player I was before I met her. Only this time, I had her in my life.
Natalia had texted her address to me. She lived in an apartment not far from where we met over a month ago. I recognized the neighborhood when I pulled into her parking garage.
* * *
I knocked on the shabby door and waited for her to answer.
I held up a bouquet of flowers. “These are for you.”
She reached on her tiptoes to kiss me, but stopped and pulled me inside. She took the flowers from me. “Sorry, I don’t want anyone to see you.”
I didn’t care. I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into my arms, crushing her with an earth-shattering kiss.
She trembled and I felt the satisfaction rumble through me. “I like your place.” I looked around. It had the definite markings of a girl. There were pastels and black and white photos of dancers on the wall.
“Thanks, I can give you the quick tour.” She smiled. “This, of course, is the kitchen where I spend almost no time. This is the living room where I spend a little time.” I followed her. “This is the bedroom where I sleep.” Everything was white and clean.
“And what’s this, the guestroom?” I pushed open the door beside her room and stared.
Natalia was behind me. “No, it’s my studio.” She adjusted the dimmer switch and a chande
lier hanging from the ceiling illuminated the space.
There was an entire wall of mirrors and a barre that ran the length of one wall.
“It didn’t come like this, did it?”
She laughed. “No, of course not. I had permission to have the mirrors and the barre installed for my practice.”
Other than an old record player and a crate of records on the far side, the room was empty. The floors were smooth and soft.
“You dance in here?”
“I used to. I haven’t tried much since I was injured. But I do a lot of stretching, and it’s a great workout room.”
“What kind of music do you play on that thing?” I pointed to the turntable.
“Mostly classical.” She walked to the stack of albums in the crate and flipped through them and retrieved one from the center.
“Where did you get it?” I streamed all my music. I didn’t have a CD player.
“It was a gift from my ballet teacher when I left Paris.” She sounded sad. “She gave me all her records and the turntable.” She was smiling, but it was at a distant memory, not at me. “Sometimes I come in here and listen. I remember the dances.”
“Like what?” I asked. I had this need to connect with her. To bring her back to where we were. I wanted her to leave those Paris memories and remember I was standing in front of her.
“Stuff like this.” She placed the vinyl record on the player and moved the arm for the music to begin. I heard a violin and a piano, but all I saw was her. Her long, graceful legs. The beauty of her breasts. The fact that there were two of her in this room with those mirrors. My cock twitched.
I reached for the dimmer, lowering the lights on the shimmering chandelier.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I want you to take your clothes off.” I was ready to strip her bare myself if she didn’t start shedding the tank top and shorts.
But she lifted her arms, pulling her shirt overhead, and with a quick snap, her bra skidded over her arms. Her fingers landed on her hips and she shrugged the shorts over her legs and stepped away from the small pile of clothes.
Beauty and the Billionaire Brothers Page 20
