Strike (Completion Series)

by Holly S. Roberts

  Light was streaming in the windows, and I could tell it was still early by the chill in the air. I twisted in the covers and grumbled.

  “Reed is coming, and Jon told me to wake you up.”

  Reed was supposed to be here at seven, so it must be fairly close. I hoped he was as tired as I was. It served him right. I stretched, feeling each and every muscle ache. Crap, I didn’t want Bitsy to see my love bruises or at least not all of them.

  “I’ll be up in a minute, Bits. Go see if the coffee’s ready.”

  As soon as I heard the slide of the accordion door, I got up and pulled off the t-shirt I slept in. I put on a bra and clean t-shirt followed by panties and shorts. I was very sore down there, but it didn’t bother me; it actually felt good in a weird sort of way. I wondered if I was one of those masochistic people who liked pain. I loved the pain Reed gave me and that was something else that was weird.

  Reed.

  He was coming over. How do you react to a man after the night we had? Did he still want me moving in? Did he still want me?

  Here they came. Thoughts of my mother swirled through my brain. Was I like her, thinking a man was the end all for solving my problems. All my self-doubts rolled in. We were dirt poor and he had money…came from money. He was a famous baseball player with famous friends. How could he want me along with all the baggage I carried? Not that Jon and Bitsy were baggage to me. I loved them, would die for them, and even steal for them. How could any man want us all?

  I entered our dinky bathroom and took my first look in the mirror. Oh no. My neck was a mess. I wondered if I could get away with a turtleneck sweater in the spring. I was being stupid. If people didn’t like it, they didn’t need to look. Jon and Bitsy would love me regardless.

  I thought back to the night before and unpacking the bag Jon prepared for me. I had to smile. He’d included a paper bag I’d given him a year ago. I’d picked it up at the local family planning clinic. It had several condoms, lube, and assorted literature on safe sex. Reed had laughed.

  “I carry my own; you better give these back to Jon, but tell him the condoms get old and need to be replaced if they’re not used within a year.” At the color pinkening my cheeks, Reed changed his statement. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll tell him.”

  I groaned at the memory, or maybe it was a groan over my hair, which was a complete mess. Reed had run his fingers through the wavy mess after it dried the night before and didn’t seem to mind, but this morning it was worse. I decided on a thick braid down my back because we were moving and I needed it out of my way.

  I hoped we were moving.

  I opened the bathroom door and walked out, going straight for the coffee. I poured a cup and looked outside the small front window. Jon stood talking to Reed, who had his arm around my sister. My heart stopped. Bitsy was going to fall in love with him and it would be so hard when things ended.

  I placed my coffee cup on the counter and decided to get the awkward after-sex reunion over. Reed looked straight at me as I walked down the two steps. He didn’t take his eyes away and even Jon turned my way. I walked to Jon’s side and whispered a little, “Hi,” to Reed. He undraped his arm from Bitsy while walking forward and placed his arms fully around me. He kissed my temple and gave me a quick hug.

  Bitsy giggled, and when I looked at Jon, he was blushing. I don’t know what I expected, but I didn’t think Reed would notify the world or my brother and sister that our relationship changed overnight. Like so many times before, he surprised me.

  “So are my girls ready to move today?” He swung me around so I faced Bitsy and Jon, but kept one arm across my shoulder.

  Bitsy began jumping up and down, clapping her hands. I noticed a large, lifted truck parked on the street and gave Reed an inquisitive look.

  “It’s not mine, I just borrowed it to move the trailer. I brought a hitch and a few other things we might need.”

  “You really want this trash heap parked at your house?” I hadn’t thought he was serious.

  “It’ll fit in the garage and I told you I would move it to my house when you moved in. I brought tape to secure the cabinets and anything else that needs it.”

  At the word tape, blood rushed to my face. It conjured kinky memories that I couldn’t quite get out of my mind.

  “What’s on your neck, Jaycee?” Bitsy asked.

  To my mortification, my face grew hotter.

  Reed laughed. “Sorry, Bitsy, but that’s my fault. Those are love bites and I gave them to your sister last night.” He grabbed me tighter, circling his arms around me, his mouth going to my neck, and growling loudly.

  “That’s gross.” Bitsy laughed and added an, “Eww.”

  “I couldn’t help myself.” He released me again. “Your sister tastes so good.” He winked at Jon, who was fighting a smile. The traitor.

  I guessed it was a guy thing because my brother should have puffed out his chest and slammed Reed to the curb, but he didn’t do more than fight his smile and get a little more red-faced like me.

  “Let’s get this party started so you’re settled by this afternoon. I invited some friends over to barbeque with us. Since Jaycee has the weekend off from Tasty B we better take advantage of it.”

  Friends…shit. Just the thought made me panic, but I didn’t have a chance to talk to Reed during the moving process without my sister or brother around. We worked our butts off getting the trailer travel-ready. The registration expired years ago, but Reed took care of that by getting a temporary transit permit. I seriously couldn’t believe he was taking this ratty old thing with us, but I was glad. No, I never wanted to live in it again, but I felt so much more secure having it.

  We locked Don Gato inside a carrier, again provided by Reed, and loaded ourselves into the large truck an hour later. Reed rolled his window down, cranked up the music, and drove as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He’d told me the garage loft was furnished. For us, anything was a step up, so I hadn’t insisted on seeing it.

  At my first look, I wanted to cry. A huge flat screen TV took up one wall with a large couch and two reclining chairs resting in front of it. There was a small nook with a table and chairs beside the kitchen, but it was four times larger than the trailer table.

  “There’s only one bathroom, but I’ll give you each a house key and security alarm code. The bedrooms are back there. We can start moving your clothes and stuff in, but the kitchen is fully stocked and ready for the cook.” He looked at me.

  My eyes traveled to the medium-sized kitchen; it was at least twice as big as the entire trailer, but still much smaller than the one inside Reed’s house. There was a bar with stools separating the entertainment area from the kitchen. To Reed, it all must appear small, but to me and my sister and brother, it was huge.

  We followed Reed back to the bedrooms. He opened the door to the bathroom, which was in between the two rooms.

  Bitsy squealed, “It has a bathtub, Jaycee. I can swim in the bathtub.”

  Reed smiled and spoke before I could, “I have a swimming pool in the backyard. Do you know how to swim?”

  “Yes. Is it like the big pool at the park?” Bitsy asked.

  “A little smaller than that one. There’s a fence around it and it’s important that you never go out there without an adult.”

  “Hey,” Jon spoke up for the first time.

  “I included you in that statement. If you’re the man of the family, in my eyes, you’re an adult. I’m assuming that if you go to the park’s pool, you all know how to swim.”

  “I took classes and can swim all the way across the short end,” Bitsy said with pride.

  “I bet you can. We’ll hit the water later to cool off. Let’s get your stuff moved in and Don Gato situated. I spoke to the vet and he said the cat needs to remain inside for a few days so he knows this is home.”

  Shit, Reed thought of everything and it left me reeling. The feeling continued when I saw the room I would share with Bitsy. Two twin beds were pushe
d to either side of the window with matching princess comforters. Bitsy was ecstatic. Reed was just too much for me to handle.

  It only took us an hour to transfer the things we needed and situate them inside the loft. We finally let Don Gato out of his carrier. We set up his litter box in the corner of the front room, out of the way. I didn’t think he’d ever seen one and I hoped he would use it. Obviously, his feline instincts set in because he had no problem scratching away the litter and doing his business after his confinement in the crate. He then went exploring as Reed showed us how to use the TV remote.

  It controlled the TV, DVR, and Blu-ray. There were hundreds of channels, which I found completely mindboggling. Reed opened the cabinet under the TV and pulled out two laptops.

  “I figured you and Jon can use these for school. They’re synced with the Wi-Fi from the house. There’s a printer in here too. If there’s something you need, just let me know. I’m sure things will crop up.”

  “This is too much, Reed.” I so didn’t want to have this conversation with my sister and brother present, but he was going overboard.

  “You haven’t seen my office and accounting system, Jaycee. I was hoping you could help me with that too. Your laptop has the latest accounting program on it, so you don’t need to just do the work in the main house if you don’t want to…that is if you’ll help.” He gave me his little boy smile that I couldn’t resist.

  Not that I wouldn’t have helped him. Math and accounting were my thing, but he manipulated me so easily and then threw in that smile. We would discuss this later without added ears around. I gave him the we’ll-talk-later look and walked over and opened the refrigerator.

  Everything I needed for sandwiches and so much more was inside. It was incredibly nice to have a full-sized refrigerator and freezer, not to mention food. I actually enjoyed cooking and would have a field day soon. “I’m making lunch. Who’s in?”

  “Me.”

  “Me.”

  “Feed me, woman, and I’ll take all of you swimming after we eat.”

  Jon and Bitsy thought Reed delightfully funny. I just rolled my eyes.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Reed took us to the main house to look around before swimming. My suit was an old ratty one-piece that I’d found at a thrift store. I know that seems trashy, but when you don’t have money and the swimming suit cost two dollars, you get over the whole ick factor and wash it thoroughly before wearing. I didn’t feel comfortable wearing it in front of Reed and just stayed in my shorts, but exchanged my sweaty t-shirt for a tank. I owned exactly two bras and one was deep in the dirty clothes basket, so I had to keep my sweaty one on.

  We followed Reed through his house. It was huge, much bigger than I thought. There was a workout room, game room complete with pool table, and a separate theater room with the biggest television I’d ever seen. Individual plush chairs faced the TV so you could watch and enjoy in luxurious comfort. An old-fashioned pushcart popcorn machine was against the back wall. It actually worked and had small paper bags so you could fill them and eat while watching a movie. The library, though I could only think of it as the burglary room, held the glass case where the baseballs used to reside. I’d never asked Reed what he did with them.

  His entire house was as neat as a pin until we entered his office. Papers and file folders leaned haphazardly in piles covering his desk. There were a few stacks on the floor, causing me to look at Reed in question.

  “I told you,” he said using his little boy smile again.

  I needed to learn some way to guard against that look. It made my panties wet and used his smiles and charm to reel me into his web before he pounced.

  “I want to show your sister something. Jon do you mind playing a round of pool with Bitsy? We need a little more time with our full stomachs before we go outside to swim.”

  The jerk wasn’t even sly about it. He had my hand in his strong grip, pulling me up the stairs and into his room with barely a protest from me. I was actually laughing.

  “I’m not having sex with you, Reed. Not with my brother and sister downstairs,” I whispered after he shut the door and pushed me against it.

  “I have to kiss you, Jaycee. You’re driving me crazy and when you look at me with those please-suck-my-clit eyes, I go crazy.” He kissed my neck and my jaw, moving closer to my mouth.

  I was completely affronted. I did not have suck-my-clit eyes, the lunatic. But, oh God, it’s all I could think about now. His lips finally found mine and started with little nibbles that turned to sucking, small bites, and the most panty-dripping kiss. He unzipped my shorts and put his hands inside the waistband, traveling under my panties and around my hips until he had my ass cheeks in his palms.

  He pulled his mouth away and whispered, “Put your legs around me, baby,” at the same time he lifted me, giving me no choice but to wrap my legs around his waist.

  He went back to my lips while grinding his hips, pushing me against the door, his cock rubbing against my center. He let go of my ass and moved his hands under my shirt until he cupped my breasts through my bra. His lips left my mouth, burning a path down my neck to the exposed part of my chest right above my breasts. We were both breathing hard, and if he fucked me against the door or carried me to the bed, I wouldn’t stop him.

  But he didn’t. He pulled his lips away and leaned his forehead against mine.

  “I can’t believe we need to wait until tonight. You’ll come here tonight, won’t you, baby?”

  Yea, like I’d say no right now. I was so damn hot to have him I couldn’t have said no even if someone held a gun to my head.

  “It won’t be until Bitsy goes to bed,” I breathed out with a sigh.

  “I can wait. Well, no, I can’t wait, but I will. I’ve wanted to kiss you all day and the quick one this morning didn’t count. I worried about you.”

  I pulled my head away just a bit. “Why would you worry about me?”

  “About how you’d feel after last night; if you’d try to run from me. I was worried you wouldn’t move in.”

  I smiled. “And not get a chance at all your office garbage. Are you kidding me? I’ve never seen such a disaster.”

  His fuck-me smile flashed. “If I’d known that would seal the deal I’d have shown you the mess last night. I told you that I don’t know quite what’s happening here. I want to see where it takes us, though. Promise me you won’t back out without talking to me. That’s what worries me the most.”

  It was an easy promise to make. “I won’t, but I need the same thing from you.”

  “You got it, baby. Now kiss me so we can get back downstairs. I have a feeling your brother is going to kill me.”

  I kissed him until our breathing was heavy again. He pressed into me the entire time, making it so hard not to beg him to fuck me.

  Reed led me to the kitchen. An older woman moved around the room like she owned it. She turned and gave us a huge smile, her eyes crinkling with pleasure.

  “Maggie, this is Jaycee. Her brother and sister are in the game room.”

  Maggie walked forward and wrapped me in her arms like she hadn’t seen me in years. I looked over her shoulder at Reed and he winked.

  “It’s so wonderful to meet you, Jaycee. This rascal told me about you and your family moving above the garage. My knees are getting old, and he says you will be taking over some of my work.”

  What the hell? He’d never told me he already had someone managing his home. “Umm, it’s nice to meet you,” I said as soon as she released me.

  “He’s only had me coming here twice a week these past months, but he needs someone more often. I would love to keep my same schedule and just cook, but we can talk about that after Reed leaves for spring training. We’ll have plenty of time to plan then. I made chocolate chip cookies for everyone if you’d like a few. I can make a plate for your brother and sister too or you can send them to the kitchen. I have ten grandchildren and love kids. I can’t wait to meet them.”

  I looked a
t Reed and watched as he snuck one of the warm cookies off the pan. He broke off a gooey section and put it to my lips. Mouthwateringly good.

  “I’ll send Jon and Bitsy in so you can meet them. What are you making for Reed’s guests?” I couldn’t miss all the other bowls and pans she had out.

  “I made potato salad, there’s corn on the cob wrapped to heat on the grill, and ingredients for a salad. Do you like to cook?”

  “I do, but have never seen a kitchen quite like this.” It was amazing; everything was large and airy, double oven, triple sink, and glass cabinet fronts displaying gorgeous dishware. My eyes had zeroed in on the knife set I’d noticed that first night. After I spotted it, I looked at the chair.

  Reed moved behind me and circled his arms around my waist. “I didn’t know you could cook,” he all but growled in my ear.

  I knew he knew what I was looking at and was trying to get both our minds off that chair. “I’m pretty good with cutlery too. I chop a mean onion.”

  He laughed, his breath moving across my cheek. “I’ll wipe your tears next time you do.”

  I looked at Maggie. She smiled hugely and I was so glad I’d have someone to teach me a thing or two about running Reed’s house.

  “I’ll help Maggie with the salad. Why don’t you send Bitsy and Jon in here?”

  “Oh, posh, I don’t need help with the salad. You kids need to enjoy the day, swim, eat junk food, and relax.” Maggie was all but shooing us from the room.

  “She doesn’t relax, Maggie, but I’ll do my best to force her.” Reed took my hand, practically dragging me away.

  “I can help her, Reed; she has bad knees.”

  “She’s had bad knees for years and it doesn’t stop her. She loves cooking for the guys. Enjoy this weekend with me and then you can take over your duties.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  He pulled me into the game room. “Hey, Jon, Bitsy, fresh chocolate chip cookies are in the kitchen. Maggie wants to meet you, so run in there and get a few. And bring some back for us if you don’t mind.”