Stealing Second

by Alison Packard

  Katherine held his gaze, and suddenly the air between them thickened. More than anything, she ached for him to kiss her again. To know he hadn’t willingly walked away from her only intensified the feelings she still had for him. “What do we do now?”

  “What do you want us to do now?” The husky notes of his voice sent a surge of liquid warmth through her lower body. “I’ll go if you want me to, or I can stay. It’s up to you, darlin’.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Katherine’s heart stuttered and, unable to look away from Tom’s intimate gaze, she smiled. “If you stay, we’ll probably end up over there.” She motioned toward the bed with a tilt of her head.

  A whisper of a smile played at the corners of his mouth. “I’m fine with that if you are.”

  Oh, yes, she was fine with it. More than fine.

  “Or we could just talk,” he said, mistaking her silence for hesitance.

  “I remember us doing a lot of both back in the day.” She smiled at the memories. “So tell me. Why did you really take the job with the Blaze? You could have stayed in Texas.”

  “Because I had a feeling we weren’t done with each other.” He traced circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. In response, her nipples tightened and pressed against the soft fabric of her sleep shirt. “Not that I could admit it to myself at the time. I told myself the money was better, the Blaze had a greater chance of getting to the World Series, and I could deal with being in San Francisco as long as I could go back to Austin in the off-season.”

  “Austin? You don’t live in Dallas anymore?” she asked, surprised she hadn’t known this. But then, why would she? She’d made it a point to keep her distance ever since he joined the team.

  “No. Ever since college, my home base has been in Austin. I love the area.” His thumb stilled. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

  She nodded.

  “Is there anything going on with you and Logan?”

  “No.” Her answer brought a satisfied glint to his eyes. “What about you and Dorie?” she asked. “I know she’s dating someone on the team, but she’s hesitant about saying who it is because it’s a new relationship.”

  “It’s not me.” Amusement flashed in his eyes. “Jealous?”

  “No,” she said, then flushed as he cocked his head and lifted a brow at her. “Okay. Maybe a little. Were you? Jealous, I mean?”

  “Yes. The thought of Logan touching you irritated the shit out of me.” His eyes darkened, then he pushed his chair back, tugged her hand and pulled her onto his lap. She landed on his hard thighs with a gasp he quickly contained by covering her mouth with his.

  Her heart rate accelerated the instant he parted her lips and deepened the kiss. Her tongue parried his in a sensuous duel that made her body quiver, and then she was lost and everything faded away except for the need he so easily evoked within her. Everywhere her body touched his she burned, and every glide of his tongue against hers sent a lick of heat between her legs.

  A low moan escaped her as Tom pulled his mouth from hers and gently nibbled at her lower lip before dipping lower. She leaned her head back and shivered as he feathered his lips down her neck and to the pulsing hollow at her throat. Lifting her hand, she cupped the back of his head and breathed in his intoxicating masculine scent. He smelled exactly the same as he had when they were eighteen, yet she didn’t remember it affecting her this intensely. Her body was on fire; she didn’t have to touch herself to know she was becoming wet from just his kisses.

  As he continued to press soft kisses on her neck, she felt his hand on her calf, securing her on his lap. Beneath her, the hard ridge of his erection pressed into the crevice of her ass. Knowing he was as turned on as she was only added to her excitement. She tightened her fingers in his hair and tugged. He lifted his head and met her heavy-lidded gaze. The air shimmered, then intensified as their eyes locked.

  “I’ve missed you…missed this with you,” she whispered.

  His eyes flared, then he leaned forward and kissed the beauty mark just below the corner of her mouth. “Do you know what I miss?” he asked huskily.

  She shook her head.

  “Making out with you in my truck at Joe Pool Lake.” He skimmed his palm from her calf up to her thigh. Goose bumps tingled her skin. “We sure steamed up those windows, didn’t we?”

  “We sure did.” She smoothed the hair at his nape with her fingers. “I think you got to third base at the lake, didn’t you?”

  “You let me get to third base.” He grinned. “Shocked the shit out of me.”

  “I find that hard to believe. By then our make-out sessions were pretty damn hot. I was dying for you to touch me.” She lifted her mouth to his. “Just like I am now,” she murmured against his lips, then sighed as he slipped his hand between her legs and urged her thighs apart.

  Her sleep shirt had ridden up when he’d pulled her onto his lap, and since she never wore underwear to bed, nothing prevented him from sliding his hand up her thigh and dipping a finger into the folds of her pussy. His first touch elicited a soft gasp, the second, a long stroke that ended with a teasing flick over her clit, had her sucking in a breath, then sighing as he claimed her mouth in a kiss hotter than the one that had preceded it.

  Clutching at his shoulder, she moaned and arched her body as she felt him slide one finger, then two inside her and thrust gently.

  He pulled his mouth from hers. “Did you miss this?” he asked in a low, rough voice.

  “Yes,” she whispered, then trembled as he brushed her clit with his thumb. “Oh, God. Yes.”

  His eyes flared with satisfaction. “How about I show you something else I missed?” He withdrew his fingers from between her legs. Her groan of frustration earned her a cocky grin. “Don’t worry, darlin’, I’m not about to leave you unsatisfied. You know that’s not my style.”

  Before she could respond, Tom slid his arm under her knees and rose from the chair, lifting her with ease. Fully expecting him to carry her to the bed, he surprised her by setting her on the table.

  “Lie back. Like you did that night at the lake.” The husky cadence of his voice sent a surge of throbbing heat through her entire body. Unable to pull her gaze from his, she leaned back and braced her forearms on the smooth, cool surface of the table.

  Her heart pounded with anticipation. That night at the lake was the first time he’d ever put his mouth between her legs. This time she wasn’t lying on the tailgate of his truck staring at a countless number of stars, but the arousal spiraling deep in her core was exactly the same.

  And like that night, Tom lowered himself to his knees, parted her legs and stared at the most intimate part of her. If she wasn’t so turned on, she might be embarrassed that she’d missed her waxing appointment last week, but judging by the raw hunger in his eyes, he didn’t seem to notice, or care.

  Her breath quickened as he hooked her knees over his shoulders, then slid his hands down her thighs to her hips and pulled her toward him. His warm mouth covered her moist flesh and then his tongue swept inside the folds of her pussy and unerringly found her clit. At her gasp of pleasure, he tightened his fingers on her hips, then proceeded to tease her with his lips and tongue until the sweet ache inside of her grew to almost-unbearable proportions.

  Adding to her arousal was the sight of his head between her legs, and the knowledge that this wasn’t a fantasy. After the pleasure faded, she wouldn’t be alone in bed with only the memories of the past to keep her warm.

  Just as she teetered on the brink, Tom lifted his head, and she wanted to cry out with frustration as her impending orgasm slipped away from her.

  “You taste even better than I remember,” he said thickly, then sank his mouth on her again, licking and kissing her throbbing flesh until all she heard was the sound of her long drawn-out moan as he finally took her over the edge.

  She cried out his name, then collapsed on the table as hot throbs of pleasure ricocheted through her body and left her limp and quiverin
g. “I forgot how good you are at that,” she said after the aftershocks faded and she could breathe normally again.

  Tom’s hot breath caressed her inner thigh as he chuckled. “Only good?” He slipped her knees from his shoulders, rose to his feet, then leaned forward to brace his palms on the table on either side of her. “I’ll have to do better next time. You know me, I strive for excellence.”

  “And you say I’m the overachiever,” she said, before he lowered his head and kissed her—a long, slow, deep kiss that stole her breath.

  When he pulled back, she stared up at him, slightly dazed. “Wrap your legs around me,” he commanded in a low voice, and when she complied, he slipped one hand under the curve of her back, then lifted her off the table with barely any effort. She slipped her arms around his neck as he cupped one hand under her ass to hold her securely against him.

  His eyes burned into hers, scorching her with their intensity. “You’re so damn beautiful. You have no idea how badly I want to fuck you right now.” His words, and the rough notes of his voice, sent a delicious pulse of need low in her belly.

  “I think I do.” She gave him a saucy smile. “Which begs the question. Why aren’t you fucking me right now?”

  He let out a short laugh. “Because, smart-ass, I don’t have any condoms on me at the moment. The few I do have are in my suitcase. In my room.” He paused. “You don’t happen to have any, do you?”

  “Sorry. No. I never have sex on road trips.” She pressed a quick kiss on his lips. “Until now. Let’s go to your room. Or you go to your room and get them. Either option works for me.” She frowned and regarded him quizzically. “Now that I think of it, isn’t there some sort of unwritten rule that all men are required to carry at least one condom in their wallet at all times? In case of a sexual emergency?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Yeah? Well, talk to me after you take a few bills out of your wallet to pay for some Girl Scout cookies in front of the grocery store and a couple of condoms fall out.”

  Katherine smothered a laugh. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. And when the little girl picked them up from the ground and handed them back to me, I thought her mother was going to blow a gasket. I couldn’t get away fast enough. And that wasn’t the worst of it.” A grimace twisted his mouth. “I forgot my damn Thin Mints.”

  This time she didn’t bother to hide her laughter. “All right, I’ll give you a pass, but only if you put me down, and then get your ass back here pronto with some condoms. It’s been seventeen years and we’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”

  After Tom left her room with her key card, Katherine pressed her palms to her flushed cheeks and sank down on the end of the bed. For an instant she considered pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. But if she was dreaming, there was no way she wanted to wake up now.

  For so long she’d believed Tom had walked away from her without a second thought. To know now that he hadn’t filled her with an odd mixture of joy and anger. Joy that he hadn’t just stopped loving her one day, and anger that they had been manipulated into thinking the worst of each other by the people who claimed to love them the most.

  Her father wasn’t a cruel man, but what he’d done was exactly that. And what was even more upsetting was how he’d comforted her when she was so devastated. On more than one night after she’d been released from the hospital, she’d cried in her father’s arms until she had no tears left. And just recently she’d thanked him for his support. How ironic was that?

  She heaved a sigh of disgust and pushed up from the bed. With anger fueling her, she moved to the table Tom had just driven her wild on. Her phone was still charging on the corner near the window right where she’d left it. She picked it up, then quickly set it down. As much as she wanted answers, she didn’t want to ruin the evening. She and Tom had been apart too long, and she wanted him too much to let her father come between them again.

  But she would get her answers. And she would get them soon.

  * * *

  Tom closed the door of his hotel room behind him and, with a few condoms in hand, made his way back toward Katie’s room. It was sheer luck that he’d still had the condoms in his suitcase, and if he cared enough to let anyone know his personal business, he’d thank Nico Donovan, the ball club’s second-year first baseman and resident practical joker, who had stuffed a bunch of them into his leather satchel during the team’s last road trip. He’d found them after a game, shoved them into the side pocket of his suitcase and promptly forgot about them.

  Until tonight.

  Having sex while on a road trip was something he hadn’t done in a long while. For a couple of reasons. One, as a manager he didn’t believe it set the right example for the team, and two, a few years after he’d gotten sober he’d come to the conclusion that he really didn’t enjoy casual hookups all that much.

  Before accepting the job in San Francisco, he’d embarked on a couple of somewhat substantial relationships. Both women were attractive, had a sense of humor and were good in bed, but he’d ended the relationships when the subject of a deeper commitment came up. They both wanted marriage, but he couldn’t fathom it. The only woman he had ever wanted to marry was Katie; to even contemplate it with anyone else didn’t sit right with him.

  What also didn’t sit right was finding out that his mother and Katie’s father had colluded to separate him and Katie. He wasn’t surprised Cal Whitton had a hand in it, but his mother? It didn’t make sense. She’d always liked Katie, and so had his father.

  As he halted outside Katie’s door, the sound of laughter drew his attention down the hallway, toward the direction of the elevators. Two seconds later, Seth and Dorie rounded the corner. Tom froze. As did Seth and Dorie. Their smiles faltered, and Dorie’s face turned a light shade of pink. For at least three seconds no one moved, then Seth and Dorie exchanged a furtive glance and resumed walking toward him.

  “Hey.” He nodded to them. “I’m doing a few random bed checks.”

  Seth glanced at the door, then at him. “Good idea. Gotta keep the guys guessing.” He cleared his throat. “Ah, Dorie and I had a late dinner. I’m walking her to her room.”

  Tom didn’t feel the need to respond. Just as Seth knew Tom was standing in front of Katie’s room, Tom was fully aware that Dorie and Lily’s room was in the opposite direction.

  “Well, I’ll talk to you tomorrow at our morning meeting,” Seth said, after an awkward silence. “Have a good night.”

  “You too,” he said, then smiled at Dorie, whose face was still flushed.

  Tom watched them until they turned the corner at the other end of the corridor, then used Katie’s key card to enter her room.

  “You’ll never believe—” he began, then his heart slammed against his chest at the sight of her, standing at the foot of the bed, completely nude.

  She gave him a provocative smile. “You might want to close the door.”

  Still staring at her slender yet curved-in-all-the-right-places body, Tom pushed against the door with his palm until it closed with a decisive click.

  “You’re—”

  “Naked. Yes, I know.”

  “I was going to say you’re beautiful.” His gaze lowered from her face, to her high round breasts, then lingered on her rose-colored nipples before moving lower. Anticipation thickened the air in his lungs at the sight of the neatly trimmed reddish-blond thatch of hair between her thighs. Not fifteen minutes ago, the taste of her sweet pussy, and her soft, breathy sounds of pleasure, had him literally aching to be inside of her.

  Now he was aching all over again.

  “Thank you,” she said, then moved toward him. His heart hammered as he took in every alluring inch of her. Her hair—loose and spilling over her alabaster shoulders—gleamed like burnished copper in the muted light. He longed to see it fanned out on the pillow as he made love to her.

  She halted in front of him, and immediately her soft feminine scent curled through him, and elicited memories
of long-ago nights when they’d clung to each other so tightly he didn’t know where he left off and she began. Emotion lodged in his throat, and for a moment he found it hard to catch his breath.

  “Let me take these.” She reached for his hand and took the key card and condoms from his grasp. With a smile, she tossed them toward the nightstand. The key card and one condom landed safely, the other two condoms falling to the carpet.

  Every instinct within him urged him to throw her on the bed and bury his throbbing cock inside her tight sheath, but he forced himself not to touch her. If he touched her he’d lose control, and he didn’t want that. For years it had haunted him that the last time they were together he hadn’t savored the moment. Not knowing it was the last time he would make love to her, he’d taken that last intimate act for granted.

  He would never make that mistake again.

  “Tom?” The tentative tone of her voice pulled him from the past. “What is it? You look…sad.”

  He blinked, and her face came into focus. “I was thinking about the last time we were together like this. We were in a hurry because we were late for some party at the lake and…” He trailed off, then shrugged. “Never mind. I’m not sure why I thought about it.”

  She lifted her hands and rested her palms on his chest. Her fingers burned through the thin fabric of his T-shirt and scorched his skin. “Because we didn’t know it would be the last time.” A hint of pain flickered in her eyes. “For a few years afterward I wished I’d known. But then I realized that knowing would have been more painful. Maybe that last time was rushed, but there was no sadness or regret. There was only love. At that moment we believed we’d be together forever. I wouldn’t trade that feeling for anything. Would you?”

  “No,” he said, and meant it. No matter the pain that followed, his relationship with Katie had been the best time of his life.

  “And tonight we have the chance to make that time not be our last time. Are you in?”