The Off-Season

by Megan Green

  She presses her nails into the skin of my ass, pulling me hard and close against her. I grind my rigid cock against her warm body, the soft fabric of her leggings heightening the sensation. I drop my face from hers, my mouth on her neck, sucking and licking as I continue to rock against her.

  “Touch me, Ian,” she gasps between moans, her fingers tracing lines up and down my back and ass.

  She doesn’t have to ask me twice. Pulling back for a moment, I lift the thick sweater over her head, flinging it behind me, not giving a shit where it lands.

  Her soft, smooth breasts strain against the fabric of her bra, her erect nipples evident through the thin lace. I freeze for a moment, marveling at the sight of her lying beneath me, her long blonde hair splayed around her head, her cheeks flushed, her lips red and swollen from my kisses. And her supple, flawless skin on display, just waiting for me to claim it.

  I run my finger along her collarbone, taking my time as I slowly trail my hand down from the base of her neck to the swell of her breasts. She presses up into me when my hand closes around her still-covered breast, her body rolling against my touch.

  “Please, Ian. I need to feel you.”

  Returning my mouth to her neck, I nip and tease at her skin with my teeth as I rub my thumb against the rosy bud of her nipple. The feel of her moan vibrates against my lips, and I pull the thin fabric of her bra to the side, closing my hand around her bare flesh.

  “Ian,” she whimpers as my finger and thumb roll around her nipple.

  I fucking love the sound of my name on her lips. And I’m determined to hear it again and again and again, as many times as I can make her pant it before she finally screams it in ecstasy.

  My lips replace my fingers on her breast as I maneuver us into a sitting position, her legs straddling mine, her head rolling back on her neck as my mouth works her nipple. I make quick work of her bra, unhooking the clasp and baring her exquisite chest to me completely. I take turns lavishing her breasts, making sure each nipple gets the attention it deserves, my hand toying with the other at the same time. Lexi lies slack in my arms, completely giving herself over to me, my arm the only thing keeping her from slithering to the floor.

  I feel like a fucking god.

  After a few minutes of me worshipping her perfect tits, she starts to rub against me in earnest. From our new position, her core is pressed firmly against my cock, her wet heat radiating through the fabric of her leggings.

  She rocks against my cock, groaning as her clit comes in contact with my stiff length.

  “You like that?” I ask, sliding my hips forward to give her better access.

  She nods, pulling her lip between her teeth once more.

  “Then, use me, baby. Use me to get yourself off. I want to see you when you come.”

  She picks up speed, rubbing and grinding herself against me, and I meet her inch for inch. I don’t take my mouth or hands from her body, teasing her nipples as she chases her orgasm.

  “That’s it,” I say, grazing my teeth over one sweet bud. “That’s it, baby. Let me see you come.”

  I look up at her face from my position at her breasts, and I see the exact moment when she goes over the edge. Her eyes squeeze shut, her head thrown back, as she screams out my name, her entire body curling around mine in the frenzy of her orgasm.

  It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

  I grab hold of her hips, moving her against me when the sensation becomes too much for her to continue, letting her ride out her orgasm for as long as possible. When she finally collapses into my arms, her eyes hooded and her smile sated, I kiss her.

  “You’re fucking gorgeous.”

  She smiles against my mouth, her hands trailing down to the space between my legs.

  “We don’t—” I start, but she quickly cuts me off, nipping my bottom lip.

  “Shut up, Ian. I know you want this as much as I do.”

  I can’t argue with that—not with the evidence so obviously raging from my body. The second her fingers close around my length, I hiss. The feel of her body against mine through her clothes was almost too much to bear. The feel of her bare skin on mine is…

  Fucking unreal.

  She lets go of my cock for a moment, leaning back to shimmy out of her leggings. I watch her breasts sway as she moves, still a little in shock that this stunning woman is naked in front of me.

  When she comes forward, my cock poised right at her entrance, she breaks the trance I fell into. “I don’t have any condoms.”

  Fuck. I wasn’t even thinking about protection.

  I pull back, my mind spinning as I try to come up with an alternative. Saran wrap is pretty much the same thing, right?

  “I’ve been on the pill for years though. And I’ve been tested. I’m clean.”

  When I realize what she’s suggesting, it’s all I can do to keep from flipping her over and pounding into her right then and there. “I’ve never been with anyone without one. And I get tested regularly. I’m good.”

  She presses her core down onto me, the tip of my cock barely breaching her entrance. “Then, make love to me, Ian.”

  I surge upward, my head falling forward against her shoulder at the feeling of her wet heat. She’s so tight, the walls of her pussy clenching around my cock like a vise.

  “Oh, God,” she groans as I fill her, stretching her hungry little pussy to the breaking point.

  I’ve definitely been blessed in the dick region, and I’m incredibly grateful. Because the sight of this woman as my cock stretches and fills her…it’s enough to wreck me.

  It doesn’t take long until I’m at the brink of my own orgasm, but I refuse to let go until I’ve gotten her off at least one more time. I slow down and think of baseball—ha-ha—and bring my thumb to her clit. I use my hand to stroke her on the outside as my cock slowly caresses her on the inside, and before I know it, she’s gasping against me, her body clenching around mine in the most delicious way possible.

  I let go at the same time I feel her come, tripling the speed of my thrusts as I drive myself toward orgasm, using my body to extend hers. She screams out my name as I collapse against her, completely spent.

  I grab the towel I was wearing earlier, cleaning up the mess I made between her legs. We don’t talk, just smile and touch as I arrange her in my arms in front of the fire. Pulling the blanket from the back of the couch, I drape it over both of us as I pull her against my body. She nestles her head into the crook of my shoulder, and within minutes, she’s asleep.

  It takes me a little longer to finally give in to my exhaustion. Because I know, no matter what might lie ahead of me in my dreams, nothing could possibly be as good as the reality I just experienced.

  Chapter 18

  Lexi

  I awake the next morning with a smile on my face. My lids flutter open, wonder filling me as I realize I actually slept through the night. It isn’t until I move to stretch that reality sets in.

  A large arm is wrapped around my waist, pulling me against a warm chest as I begin to move. It’s then I realize I’m lying on the floor of my living room, a few dying embers in the fireplace still glowing before me.

  Ian.

  Ian spent the night last night.

  And we…

  I bring my hands to my face, scrubbing my palms down my cheeks as I wonder how in the hell I let this happen. I’d been so good, sitting down on the floor away from him, keeping as much distance between us as possible. But then he’d told me who he was…told me about his struggles. And my resolve had completely melted away.

  I look back over my shoulder, only able to catch a glimpse of his profile from the position we’re lying in. I still can’t believe I’ve been spending so much time with a Major League Baseball player. How stupid he must think I am, not knowing who he was this whole time. I mean, I’d followed the news stories when they first broke a few months ago. I just hadn’t paid much attention to the man himself. Like so many others, I’d heard about the alleg
ations and assumed he was guilty as sin.

  But that was before I knew him. Watching the man sleeping peacefully beside me, I know there’s no way in hell he’d hurt anyone. I meant what I said to him last night. And I’ve never felt safer in the last eighteen months than I do when I’m with him.

  But that’s the problem, isn’t it? I can no longer deny the attraction and feelings I have for Ian. They came to fruition—several times—last night. But is it fair to him to drag him down with me? I’ve had my reservations already, and that was before finding out he’s a major sports star who’s already facing a world of rumors and hurt. Can I add more to that, knowing that, if word got out about my past, it would surely deepen the blow to his career?

  No, I can’t do that to him. And what’s more, I don’t deserve to even be considering the possibility. People like me don’t end up with people like Ian. Ian deserves the absolute best, not the lowest of the low.

  I squeeze my eyes shut tight, trying to figure out how I’m going to get myself out of this one without hurting him. When I’ve half-convinced myself to get up and flee, never setting foot in Maple Lake again, he stirs behind me.

  “You look like you’re thinking entirely too hard for this early in the morning.”

  My eyes pop open, finding Ian gazing down at me from where he’s propped himself up on his elbow.

  “Morning,” he adds, his dimpled smile greeting me.

  I want to groan because it’s a sight I could definitely get used to seeing every morning.

  And I know that’ll never happen.

  “Listen, Ian, about last night…”

  He presses his finger to my lips, cutting off what I was about to say. It’s probably a good thing, considering I don’t have a freaking clue what that was going to be.

  “Don’t, Lex. Don’t you dare say anything that happened between us was a mistake. Last night was incredible. And today is going to be even more so. So, get out of your head, and go get your cute butt dressed.”

  My eyebrows pull together, the argument I was preparing as he spoke rushing out of me with a whoosh. “Get dressed? Where are we going?”

  Ian sits up, tossing another log onto the fire to warm the cool house. I snuggle deeper into the blanket, not wanting the chill in the air to permeate my cozy haven.

  “You’re going to get dressed while I make a mad dash over to my place and grab some clothes. I’m going to have to borrow that awful pink sweatshirt. Don’t worry; you’ll get it back,” he adds with a wink. “You’re crazy if you think I’m putting that thing in my closet. Even if it does smell like you.”

  I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. In less than thirty seconds, he’s completely turned my thoughts away from the negative path they were traveling, reminding me again why he’s so impossible to resist.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” I point out, watching as he stands to get dressed, my eyes instantly falling on his bare ass.

  After he pulls on the sweatshirt, he flicks the power switch a few times, double-checking that the power is indeed still out. It’s a pointless task, considering the switch was already in the on position and there was no light.

  He moves down the hall, his lower half still completely bare to my perusal. It really isn’t fair for a man to have such a fantastic ass, the round curve a perfect half-orb.

  When he returns, I smile up at him from where I’m lying on the floor. “You have a bubble butt; you know that, right?”

  He shoots me another dazzling smile. “Is that a good thing?”

  “Well, considering I used to go to yoga five days a week, trying to get one, yeah, I’d say it’s a good thing. It looks much better on you than it ever would on me though.”

  He throws his head back, his hearty laughter ringing through the room. “I highly doubt that. But I’ll take the compliment. Must be all those squats the trainers make us do.”

  “There’s a reason women are such big baseball fans. I can assure you, it has nothing to do with the game. Baseball players are renowned for their bubble butts. It’s those tight white pants. They get us every time.”

  He raises a brow. “Is that so? Well, I’m pretty sure I can scrounge some up. Brandon has to have a pair or two hanging around next door somewhere. I wouldn’t want to disappoint.”

  I wonder if Brandon is one of his team members, the huge lake house suddenly making sense. Surely, nobody who didn’t make at least seven figures could afford a vacation home like that.

  Ian shoves his feet into his boots before bending down to kiss me on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Dress warm.”

  He turns and heads out the front door without another word.

  “You can’t be serious,” I say as I watch Ian kneel down in the snow in my front yard.

  He rolls a tiny ball of snow in his hands before dropping it down in the rest of the snow before him. “What? You don’t want to build a snowman?”

  “No, Anna, I don’t. Or ride my bike in the halls.”

  He shoots me a puzzled look. Apparently, he’s never seen Frozen.

  “Never mind,” I mutter, trudging through the snow to his side. “It’s freezing out here, Ian. Wouldn’t you rather go back inside? Sit by the fire?”

  “Are you kidding? Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen snow like this? It hardly ever snows in Seattle, and when it does, it’s only an inch or two. Nothing like this. This is ideal snowman snow.”

  I roll my eyes but can’t help but smile at his excitement. “Fine, let’s build a stupid snowman.”

  Rolling around and playing in the snow ends up being a lot more fun than I anticipated. As I kneel and watch Ian, I’m struck with the memory of a certain paint roller running up my back a few weeks ago, and I decide now is the perfect time to seek my revenge. Ian is working on propping the middle part of the snowman up onto the base, so while his back is turned, I grab a handful of snow, forming it into an oddly shaped snowball.

  “Hey, Ian,” I say when I’m satisfied with the size of my ball.

  I launch it at him as soon as he turns around. He falls back, momentarily thrown off-balance. I laugh as I watch him stammer around in the snow, trying not to go down.

  When he finally rights himself, he narrows his eyes at me, a playful smile coming to his lips. “Oh, you asked for it, woman.”

  He rushes me, circling his arms around my waist when he reaches me and pulling me down to the ground with him. He twists us just before we land so that I come down on top of him instead of the other way around. But, as soon as we’re down, he flips us, pinning me down with one arm while he grabs a handful of snow with the other.

  “No!” I shout through a giggle. “Ian, don’t. I’m sorry!”

  He tickles my middle as he pins me with his legs, never dropping the threatening handful of snow. “I don’t think you are. You’d better show me how sorry you are.”

  I gasp out the word, “How?” between sharp intakes of air, my stomach starting to ache from the depth of my laughter.

  And, still, he doesn’t relent.

  “Say uncle!” he shouts as he continues his torment.

  “Uncle! Uncle!” The words are broken and completely incoherent. I’m sure, if any of the neighbors are outside, they’re wondering what in the hell we’re doing and why I am screeching like a maniac.

  Ian drops the snow next to my head, his cold hands dropping to cradle my face. “You look like an angel, lying here in the snow. A beautiful, unmarred angel.”

  He lowers his face to mine, capturing my lips with his own.

  The cold from the snow is instantly replaced with heat as his mouth works over mine, every single part of my body lighting up at his touch.

  He kisses me in the snow for what feels like hours and seconds all at once. All I know is, when he pulls back, it’s entirely too soon.

  “We’d better get inside. If we stay out here much longer, we’re liable to get frostbite. And I happen to like all your body parts exactly where they ar
e.”

  I smile as he pulls me to my feet, letting him tuck me under his arm.

  “How about we head over to my place for a bit? B has a generator. It’s not enough to heat the whole house, but we could at least take a shower.”

  I grin at him. I like the sound of that—we.

  Chapter 19

  Tag

  I’ve never seen so much snow in my life. The morning after I spent the night at Lexi’s—a night that quickly went on my list of top five best nights ever—we woke to at least a foot of the fluffy white stuff. And, in the three days since then, it’s piled up even more. I used to be able to make out the shape of Lexi’s house from my kitchen window, but now? Now, it’s a never-ending spread of white.

  It’s hard to believe it’s Halloween day. It looks more like Christmas.

  Lucky for us, the power came back up shortly after Lexi and I made the trek over to Brandon’s place. Because I’ve promised her a night full of terror and fright. It’s a good thing B has an Apple TV in this place. First up is my all-time favorite Halloween movie ever—Hocus Pocus.

  What? I figured I should ease her into it. We’ll start there and work our way into Freddy versus Jason.

  I hear the shower turn off in the master bathroom upstairs. I smile up at the sound before turning back to the coffeemaker in front of me. I pour two mugs, adding sugar and cream to Lexi’s until it’s exactly how she likes it.

  I’ve carefully watched her over the last few days. And I want to surprise her with breakfast in bed this morning. Good thing my girl fell in love with B’s shower the second she saw it. She’s been in there long enough that I’ve had plenty of time to make coffee, scramble some eggs, and fry up some bacon. It’s nothing special, but I hope she appreciates the gesture anyhow.

  She’s walking out of the bathroom, rubbing a towel through her hair as I step into the bedroom.

  She smiles at me when she sees the tray. “What’s this?”

  “Scary Halloween breakfast,” I say, nodding toward the bed.