ROMANCE: SPORTS ROMANCE: Royal Game (A Second Chance Secret Baby Princess Romance) (Contemporary Bad Boy Baseball Romance)

by Mia Taylor

  “You think I would hurt my own daughter,” he replied in a stern voice that scared her.

  “I just mean, if you are going to be a part of her life, then be a part of it, don’t disappear, she doesn’t deserve that,” Ellie spoke quietly, trying not to upset him more.

  A frown formed on his face and she knew she had touched a nerve. “You don’t know anything about me,” he said, pulling his hands off of her arms and throwing them into the air.

  Mitch turned his back to Ellie and ran his fingers through his hair. “I know what it is like to grow up without a father,” he said, lowering his head.

  Ellie took a deep breath and leaned her head against the wall behind her. There was so much about Mitch that she did not know, she felt stupid for thinking that he would not want anything to do with Micah, she hated herself for not tracking him down and telling him that he had a daughter.

  Lifting her head, she stared at his back, his muscles bulged out from under his shirt. Ellie couldn’t imagine how much he was going through at that moment. Her heart broke for him, but she had no idea how to make him feel any better.

  “Momma,” Micah called from her crib, “momma.”

  Mitch turned his head, looking at Ellie, even through all of the pain and sadness, he could see the excitement of getting to see Micah

  ********

  The three of them spend the entire day together, Mitch doing everything that he could to get to know his daughter and make her feel comfortable around him.

  Ellie watched as he smiled each time she giggled. She loves how he was so gentle with her and how he was so caring as he held her. He fed her when it was dinner time, he read her a story and rocked her to sleep when it was bed time and when the day was done, even though he looked completely exhausted, he looked happier than he had ever been.

  “Do you mind if I stay here tonight,” he asked, walking out of Micah’s bedroom after placing her in her crib, “I’m just not ready to leave her.”

  Ellie understood how he felt, but she did not want him to get his hopes up and think that he could stay with her whenever he was in town.

  “I think we have a lot to talk about, but for tonight, I don’t mind if you sleep on the couch,” Ellie gave in, “it will be good for her to wake up to her daddy being here.”

  Mitch shot her a huge smile she could tell that being near his daughter meant a lot to him. Leaning back on the couch, he raised an eyebrow at Ellie, “Have I told you how good you are looking,” he asked, still smiling.

  “Don’t get any ideas,” Ellie replied, standing up and stretching. She had not realized just how stressful the day had been on her and she was ready to take a long relaxing bath. “I’m going to go relax for a little bit,” she smiled at Mitch as she walked out of the room.

  “Just call me if you get lonely,” he called after her and gave out a laugh. Ellie just rolled her eyes as she headed to the bathroom and began running herself a bubble bath.

  The water was hot as Ellie stepped into it, she watched the steam rise, filling the room with what looked like a thick fog and as she leaned back into the tub, it felt as if her day had been one long dream.

  Mitch sat in Ellie’s living room, listening for his daughter to make any sounds and getting up every few minutes to check on her. This was all completely new to him, he really had not ever had a real relationship before, let alone been around anyone’s kids. Unsure of how he was going to make it work, he thought hard, trying to come up with ideas.

  Playing baseball meant that he had to travel all of the time. He had to go to travel to be at his games, and even during the offseason, he had to spend most of his time practicing. That was one of the main reasons that he had never committed to a relationship, he did not want to just have a child and not be there for it.

  He looked around Ellie’s house, she had done quite well on her own, but he could not help feeling guilty. He was sure that it had been difficult raising their daughter on her own. But damn she still looks good, Mitch thought to himself.

  Ellie took a deep breath and pulled the plug in the tub, she wasn’t really ready to face Mitch again, the truth was, she wished he would go to a hotel and let her get her thoughts together. She was really trying to understand why he needed to be close to his daughter and she knew that she was being selfish, still, having someone in her home, her space that was supposed to be just for her and Micah was stressful enough, having it be Micah’s father was almost more than she could handle.

  Stepping out of the shower, she grabbed her towel and began drying off. She was surprised at how uncomfortable she really was having another person in the house. She never even went on a date after she found out she was pregnant with Micah, she surely had never had a man in her house while she bathed and dressed.

  ********

  Ellie walked into the living room to find Mitch sitting on her couch, his feet were propped up on her coffee table, his arms stretched out on the back of the couch, fast asleep.

  Rolling her eyes, she looked around, half expecting that he would have picked the house up at least a bit but finding that he had done nothing. What an ass, Ellie thought to herself, as she began cleaning up.

  It had been a long day for both of them, but Ellie had expected a bit more out of him. She quickly straightened the house, did the dishes and put always the laundry for the day. Finally, completely exhausted, Ellie grabbed a pillow from the hallway closet and a blanket. Walking through her living room, she threw the pillow and blanket at Mitch, a bit harder than she had intended, waking him up.

  “You’ll need this,” Ellie snapped, wrinkling her face at him.

  “I’m sorry,” Mitch replied, rubbing his eyes, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

  Ellie quickly turned and walked to her bedroom, she didn’t care what he said, the truth was, no matter what she wanted to believe, she knew that he was only there for a short time. Ellie refused to get her hopes up and let herself believe that Mitch was going to stick around. She knew how important baseball was to him, much more important than Ellie would ever be.

  Ellie curled up in her bed, her head ached, but the soft pillow helped her to relax, the bed gave under her body, and she finally realized just how tense she was. As her eyelids grew heavy, she stretched her body across the bed finally fully relaxing after a long day.

  It seemed to Ellie that she had just fallen asleep when she felt the bed shift as if someone was sitting on it. Ellie’s eye flew open, fear filled her as she sat up on the bed. Having completely forgotten about Mitch being there, she instinctively began to swing her arms.

  Mitch grabbed Ellie’s arms, pushing her down on the bed and placed his face close to hers, “Calm down,” he whispered, his deep voice almost too quiet for Ellie to hear.

  Ellie’s heart was pounding so hard she could barely hear anything else, it was far too dark for her to see but she could smell him. That familiar smell of his body and cologne intermingling caused her relief and anxiety all at the same time.

  It was a smell that she had not smelled in nearly three years yet is was so familiar to her, she could not confuse it with any other.

  She could feel his body as he lowered it against hers and wiggled, trying to get out from underneath him. “I couldn’t sleep in there by myself, knowing that you were in this nice comfortable bed all alone,” he teased her ear with his warm breath.

  As Ellie lay there, completely frozen with disbelief but she was suddenly taken back to that night they had together in the garden. She remembered the smell of the roses, the excitement she had felt and how the cool night air had kissed her skin. She also remembered the heartbreak that she had felt when it was all over.

  She had not meant to care for him, it was something that just happened naturally. When he left, it was devastating, but nothing compared to how hard it was to carry his baby for 9 months or raise her for the past few years without having any contact with him.

  “Mitch, you have to go back in the living room,” Ellie said to him, trying
to wiggle out from underneath him and doing everything she could to ignore that which she was feeling.

  “Do you really want to be alone,” he asked, his lips brushing against her neck, causing her senses to intensify and her mind to fog.

  Ellie nodded, lying and doing everything she could to convince him that she was telling the truth. She placed her hands against his chest hoping that he would feel rejected but knew he was not the type of man to ever give up when he wanted something.

  “I don’t believe you, Ellie,” he said, taking her earlobe in between his lips and giving it a little tug. Ellie pressed her lips together and closed her eyes, trying to stifle a moan of pleasure, chills flowed through her body yet still she tried to convince herself that she was not turned on by his touch.

  Ellie had never been much of a liar; it was just something she was not good at. She could not deny how she longed for the touch of a man, how she hated spending her nights alone with no hope of ever finding a man that would accept her daughter as his own.

  She tilted her head back as he kissed down her neck. It was obvious to her that he was trying to be gentle but the animal within him clawed to get out, she could hear small growls escaping from his lips. He wanted her and there was nothing that was going to change it.

  Raw passion between the two of them, caused their breathing to quicken, as his rough, calloused hands slid up her legs, she could hear the pounding of his heart as she ran her fingers through his soft short hair, she could already feel that he was beginning to sweat, it was much warmer in her house than it had been their first night together in the park.

  Ellie’s hands shook as she touched him, fear filled her knowing how much it would hurt to lose him again. “You don’t have to worry, Ellie,” he whispered, his lips inches from hers, “No matter what, I’m not going anywhere this time.” It was almost as if he could read her mind as if the two had already become so in tune with each other that he already knew exactly what she needed.

  Ellie wanted to believe it, even though they had only had one night together all those years ago, he was the only man that filled her dreams as the years went by. In her mind and in her heart, no other man could ever compare.

  Looking deep into his eyes, Ellie tried to see if he was lying, she just needed a sign, but all she saw was concern and love. She gently nodded her head as he placed his lips on hers. Pressing hard, but trying to control himself.

  Mitch had never felt hunger for any woman as strong as he felt it for Ellie and he wanted to show her what it was like to be with a real man. The last time they had been together, it had been all about the sex, there were no feelings involved. Now, after spending the day with Micah, learning about Ellie, he couldn’t help but have feelings for her.

  *******

  Ellie’s body began responding to Mitch’s touch, but for her, it was much more than his touch that caused her senses to run wild. The smell of his body, mixed with hers, the sound of his body moving against hers, and the feel of his lips, teasing her skin, was amazing and Ellie, loved it.

  Mitch gently kissed down her neck, taking his time, allowing his hot breath to tease her skin. He tugged at her gown, pulling at it as if he could not stand the barrier being between their bodies. Ellie lifted her hips, allowing the gown to slip above her hips and Mitch quickly slid it above her head tossing it to the side.

  His lips gently touched her chest, as he moved his head between her breasts, cupping them in his hands, teasing her pink nubs with his thumb.

  Her body ached with pleasure. She had not expected her body to react this way to him, it had been so long since she had been touched. She had almost forgotten how great it felt.

  Mitch raised his head, placing a long passionate kiss on each of her nipples before he continued to kiss his way down to her stomach.

  “What are you doing,” her voice caught in her throat. She didn’t want him to know how inexperienced she really was but there was no hiding it at this point. She lay under him, completely exposed, in nothing but a pair of thin, lacy panties, praying that her lack of experience would not turn him off.

  Mitch looked up at her and smiled, “If only we had more time when we were in the garden, your pleasure would have been so much more intense. I’m making up for that.”

  Ellie’s heart skipped a beat as he lowered his head back to her stomach, his tongue teasing her just below her belly button. Ellie placed her hand on his head, feeling his soft hair in her fingers. It was something she had never forgotten about him, the feel of his hair in her hands and it was something she had missed through out the years.

  Moving down her body, she felt Mitch’s tongue through the lace panties, the heat from his mouth sent waves of pleasure through her body and when he gently pushed her panties to the side, slipping his tongue into her clit, she could not help but let out a loud moan.

  “Come for me Ellie,” he sounded as if he was pleading with her, his voice muffled by her body. Ellie had never felt such pleasure and found that she couldn’t help but rock her hips in rhythm as he lapped at her clit.

  Just as he slipped two fingers inside of her, Ellie’s body buckled, her entire body tightened as waves of pleasure engulfed her. Ellie, lost complete control of her own body, moaning, her back arching as she allowed the climax to take over.

  Mitch continued, allowing Ellie to take full pleasure in her orgasm, and as her body began to still, he lifted his head, smiling at her as he wiped his mouth.

  Mitch quickly climbed up Ellie’s body, pushing her legs farther apart as he lowered his body between them. She could feel him at her entrance, waiting for permission as the two of them stared at each other in the night.

  Ellie lifted her hips, allowing him inside of her. Mitch slowly moved his hips, and Ellie could see that his face was contorted with pleasure as he slid deeper and deeper inside.

  It was different for her this time, even though she had not been with anyone besides him and only the one time, pleasure filled her body as he stretched her.

  Ellie had never considered sex could feel so good. Of course, she knew that her body could be pleased from the outside, but thought it was silly to expect it to happen any other way. The feeling was so intense that she could not help but rock her hips, almost slamming them against Mitch, which only encouraged him to thrust harder.

  Ellie’s body once again tightened, she threw her arms around Mitch, pulling him as close to her as she could as the waves took over a second time.

  This was more than Mitch could stand and as the waves subsided in Ellie’s body, Mitch let out a low growl, moaning deeply from within and with one last thrust she felt him fill her body with his hot fluids.

  Ellie lay on the bed thinking about everything that had happened. The sex was more amazing than she had ever imagined it could be but it was far more than that. It was the way that Mitch looked deep into her eyes, never breaking eye contact as he made love to her. It was the fact that he was more concerned with her pleasure than his own. It was a side of him that she had never known to exist.

  The first time, it had hurt, she had not really enjoyed much of it, but this time was different, it was as if Mitch was touching her soul with his own as if they were connecting on a deeper level.

  The two of them stared at each other, smiling and trying to catch their breath, Ellie shook her head, wondering if this was real or if it was all an elaborate dream. She reached out and placed her hand on the side of his face, stubble scratched at her hand as she looked deep into his dark eyes.

  Leaning forward, Mitch placed his lips on hers, they tasted of salt from his sweat but Ellie did not care. He kissed her gently and slowly, before laying his head on the pillow next to her and the two of them fell asleep.

  Ellie slept better that night than she had in a long time, she felt safe wrapped in his arms, and she finally felt as if everything in her life was exactly how it was supposed to be.

  Ellie woke to the sun shining through her bedroom windows. It was early, Micah was still asleep and M
itch lay next to her, looking up at the ceiling.

  Panic immediately filled her, she could tell something was wrong. I can’t handle losing him again, she thought to herself, I can’t let Micah lose him.

  Rolling onto her side, she placed a hand on his chest, “What is wrong,” she asked, praying that the answer was nothing.

  “I was just thinking about life, about what I am going to do next and how all of this is supposed to work out,” he said, not taking his eyes off of the ceiling, “I can’t just quit playing ball.”

  There it was, Ellie knew that it was going to happen. She knew that no matter what, no matter how much she wanted him to stay and no matter how much he said Micah meant to him, he was only worried about himself.

  Ellie was conflicted. Seeing him in the morning light, sleeping in his arms all night and having him make love to her in a way that she had never known was even possible, then dealing with this, she felt as if she was going to burst into tears.