by Maggie Wells
Kate obviously didn’t want him seen hanging out at her house. Probably wise, given that Millie was currently making them out to be Ali and Frazier, ready to go fifteen rounds at the sound of the bell. Plus, though he chose to ignore Mike’s pointed glares, he wasn’t oblivious to the risks in pursuing anything beyond a professional relationship with Kate. And yet another niggling voice in his head kept whispering that her reticence may have absolutely nothing to do with their current publicity campaign. Maybe she didn’t want to be seen with him. If that were the case, she was destined to be disappointed. He was done living his life under a cloud of shame. While he might have been willing to round a corner for the sake of its-nobody’s-damn-business, there was no way in hell he’d skulk down an alley like he was her backdoor man. They’d just have to figure out a happy medium.
As a concession to discretion, he snagged the green-and-gold Wolcott baseball cap off his dash and pulled it down low over his eyes. Hopefully any nosy neighbors who happened to be peeping through their blinds would think he was just a pizza delivery guy rather than the evil football coach come to debauch the Warrior princess.
Kate opened the door the second he reached the top step. To his relief, her smile was warm and welcoming. But judging from the speed with which she relieved him of his burden, she may only have been happy to see the pizza.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I ordered it loaded,” he said as he relinquished the six-pack.
“Just the way I like it.”
He tried not to stare at her ass when she bent to deposit the food and drinks on the low coffee table, but he failed miserably. She straightened, flipping back that smooth fall of dark hair with a toss of her head, and his vision blurred momentarily. He wet his lips, hoping to find something semiwitty lurking in his addled brain, but thankfully, Kate read his play.
She smiled as he advanced. They stood eye to eye. Their noses bumped as they sought just the right angle. His hand spread across her back, and he smiled when he realized she may even have him topped by an inch or so. For some reason, the discovery fired him up like a blowtorch. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t flinch or draw away.
That small indulgence was all the opening he needed. “I hope you don’t mind cold pizza and warm beer.”
“My favorites,” she whispered.
Chapter 10
He bound her to him, lifting her onto the toes of those oh-so-demure black pumps and tipping his head back to kiss her. It was an odd angle for him, but the curve of her lips fit his to perfection. The skin was soft and supple but full to bursting, like a ripe red tomato left one day too long on the vine. He sank into her, relaxing his hold just enough to lower her and change the angle. She moaned sweet and gentle, parting for him when he ran the tip of his tongue along the seam of her lips.
His ball cap tumbled to the floor as her fingers tangled in his hair. She caressed his nape, then dragged the flats of her palms down the length of his back and up again. She gave every bit as good as she got, the wet velvet of her tongue twining with his in a dance so slow and sensuous he almost forgot he was supposed to be leading.
Almost, but not quite.
He broke the kiss, settling his hands firmly on her hips and opening his eyes. Her lashes fluttered, and she blinked twice. He literally saw her snap back into focus, and man, that legendary concentration was a thing to behold.
“What?” she asked.
Blunt, direct, and sexy as sin. Lord, she was proving to be hotter than he’d ever imagined. And he’d spent a lot of time imagining her lately. The thing was, in every single one of those fantasies, she was naked. Holding her unswervingly forthright gaze. “I want you naked. In a bed.” Her brows shot up, and he grinned as he set a loophole in their agreement. “At least the first time.”
She stroked down his arm, then threaded her facile fingers through his. “Well, isn’t it lucky that I happen to have a bed handy?”
“Where?”
The urgency of his question must have hit the sweet spot. Her eyes lit up like a scoreboard. “Right this way.”
She turned and tucked their linked hands into the small of her back. Danny found himself mesmerized by the sway of her hips as she led him down a short, dark corridor. Just inside the bedroom, she released his hand and crossed to the bedside table. With the flick of a switch, a small lamp bathed the room in pale-gold light.
Her bed was smaller than the California king he hauled from state to state, but he wasn’t about to quibble. He noted two pillows in snowy-white cases propped against a scrolling wrought-iron headboard and a quilt done in pale blues and cream. Like her, the decor was subtle but pretty.
“Will this do?”
Her husky tease jolted him from his inspection. Turning his attention back to her, he caught a flash of uncertainty in her eyes as she lowered her lashes. A faint blush stained her cheeks, but she kicked off her shoes. He could feel heat wafting off her skin in waves.
“It’s perfect.” Brushing her hair back, he threaded his fingers through the thick, glossy locks and curled them around the back of her skull. “This has to be some kind of joke. You’re way too pretty to be a femjock,” he teased, hoping to ignite the fire in her again.
Bingo. Indignation flared, then simmered down to a sizzle as she narrowed her eyes. “You’re way too hot for a guy whose glory days are behind him.”
Grinning, he slipped his free hand under the hem of her sweater and lowered his head, telegraphing his pass. “I dunno. I felt pretty glorious this morning.”
“Did you?”
He felt her smile when he pressed a tender kiss to her temple. “I want to make you feel that good too.”
She tipped her head to the side, allowing him better access as he skimmed her cheekbone. “Jerking off in the locker room was the high point of your day, huh?”
“Most definitely.”
He murmured the affirmation into her skin, kissing his way along her jaw, then nipping gently at her lobe. Her pulse throbbed against his lips. He laved it with his tongue, relishing the staccato effect he seemed to be having on her heartbeat. Her back was smooth and warm under his palm. He fisted his hand in her hair, pulling her head back enough to recapture her mouth. But the blitz he’d planned met no resistance, a fact that both thrilled and disappointed him.
A perverse part of him wanted her to make him work for it a bit. Hell, he’d probably even beg, if that’s what it would take. But the lady was willing. Not just willing but eager, if the frantic tugs at his shirttails were any indication. He came up for air, gasping and groaning as she pushed both hands up under his shirt.
“Nuh-uh.” He took a full step back, hanging on to the hem of her sweater while he disentangled his other hand. “You’ve seen me. Been all over me. It’s my turn.”
He whisked the thin knit up over her head. She laughed as she brushed her hair from her face. A full-bodied, hot rush of a laugh that shot straight to his groin.
“Not much to see here.”
She cast a disparaging glance at her breasts, obviously thinking there was something lacking in the high, subtle swells encased in lace-edged satin. Proving she was cracked. He’d seen dozens of sets of tits in his life, and he could honestly attest that hers were perfect. Definitely not the biggest, but they suited her long, lithe body to a T.
“Good thing you’re not a ref. Your vision is crap.”
He dipped his head to nuzzle the shallow valley between her breasts. His hands slid down to cradle the curve of her ass. She gasped, and her nails bit into his shoulders when he claimed her nipple, but he didn’t mind the little stabs of pain. He marked the pale-blue fabric with wet, open-mouthed kisses. The satin heated, but the taut tip only hardened more. He pulled her deeper, suckling hard through the thin barrier as he groped for the zipper on her skirt. When he came up empty, Danny pulled back with a frustrated growl and straightened to his full height.
Her cheeks were flushed, the hectic color making her eyes glow gold. A hot blade of lust sliced through hi
m. If her clothes didn’t disappear soon, he couldn’t be responsible for their safety. Eyes locked on hers, he raised his hands in surrender.
“Take it off or I tear it off.”
She blinked once, then glanced down. “The bra or the skirt?”
“All of it. Now.”
A sly smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, but she nodded toward him as she crooked an arm around her back. “Why don’t we just go ahead and get rid of everything? That way neither of us runs the risk of…fumbling.”
He snorted softly but reached for the collar on his shirt without hesitation. “I don’t fumble.”
Jerking the logoed polo over his head, he sent it sailing in the same direction as her sweater. Her bra fell at his feet. He fought the urge to drop to his knees when she reached for a tiny tab at the side of that sexy skirt.
“Part of me wants you to leave that on,” he confessed, going to work on his belt.
“Too tight. We’d never get it over my thighs.”
She shimmied the snug skirt down to her ankles, revealing lightly tanned stretches of curved, firm muscle. A faint tan line ran low across the tops of her thighs, and tiny white scars dotted the spots where surgeons had scoped her knee. A longer, puckered scar marked the end of her stellar playing career.
“Not very pretty,” she said.
Danny jerked, realizing that he’d frozen with his pants halfway down his hips. Giving them a shove, he let the weight of his belt carry them to the floor. “There you go, being wrong again.” He waved a hand at the scar that ran from groin to knee. Her gaze dropped to his crotch instead, and his dick strained against his boxer briefs, anxious to make a good impression. “We can compare war stories later, but right now, there are more pressing matters.”
*
Figuring she was too far gone to turn back now, Kate stripped out of her panties and watched in fascination as Danny shed the remainder of his clothes. Anxious with anticipation, she stifled the urge to cover herself as he made quick, if clumsy, work of his shoes and socks. But the second he stood in front of her as bare and aroused as she was, all nervousness fled. He opened his arms—a simple, probably meaningless gesture, but one she appreciated nonetheless.
She stepped into the circle of his arms and sighed when he pulled her flush against him. The enticing length of his erection nudged her belly. Crisp, curling chest hair teased her nipples into aching points. She slid one hand over his broad shoulder and cupped the side of his neck. His pulse pounded against the pad of her thumb. Drawn to its siren song, she pressed her lips to the spot and simply stood there, absorbing the sure, steady beat.
When she felt grounded enough, she raised her mouth to speak directly into his ear. “It’s been a while for me.” He groaned low and rough, and she ghosted kisses along the line of his jaw. “I’d ask you to be gentle, but I don’t think that’s what either of us really want.”
“No.” His answer popped out, but then he shook his head as if befuddled by what she was saying. “Yes.”
He slid one hand up her back as she caught his lobe between her teeth and bit. Hard. His palm cradled the back of her head, making it clear he didn’t want her to stop. She traced the shell of his ear with the tip of her tongue and reveled in the shiver that shuddered through him.
“Both. All,” he amended.
Kate smiled when he tipped his head away and pressed his body into hers. Smoothing her hands over the tight swells of his butt, she pulled him closer still. “I bought condoms.” She scraped the shadow of his beard with her teeth, and if she wasn’t mistaken, his knees buckled just a little. Emboldened, she snaked a hand between them and trailed her fingertips down the stripe of silky, black hair that bisected his abs, stopping short of his straining cock. “We both know how important it is to have reliable equipment.”
His hand tightened in her hair, and he urged her head up. His lips were parted and wet, his eyes dark as the midnight sky. She could have sworn she saw him clench his teeth. Dark brows lowered, and his mouth turned down in a fierce scowl. “Play fair.”
The glower might have been more effective if he weren’t so damn delicious-looking. The fact that he was rubbing his stiff dick mindlessly against her stomach lessened the impact as well. Determined to flout his stern warning, she smiled and whispered, “Make me.”
She yelped when he yanked her up off her feet. Tall as she was, there weren’t many men who could manhandle her. The perverse girly-girl inside her squealed with glee when he turned to the bed and tossed her onto it with a bounce. The woman in her almost purred.
Husky laughter rolled off the walls. Hers. His. Theirs.
It spoke a language of its own. The sound of it filled her up, making her heart drum faster, her breasts swell, and her pussy almost embarrassingly wet. She might have been selfconscious about the slick arousal if the evidence of his weren’t so readily apparent. He wanted her. Judging from the tension in his defined muscles and the tiny throb in the corner of his jaw, he wanted her bad.
She scrambled back a bit, grinning as she arranged herself in what she hoped was an alluring come-hither pose at the center of the mattress. It worked. He followed her without hesitation, planting his hands on the quilt and crawling up over her slowly, deliberately, stalking her like a big, sleek cat.
A long sigh escaped her as he lowered himself to her. Her arms and legs wrapped around him, every instinct demanding she hold him there. Close to her.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
The old adage popped into her head without invitation. She stiffened as his mouth touched hers.
Danny instantly drew back. Propping his weight on his elbows, he searched her face. Concern etched a deep divot between his inky brows. “Am I hurting you?”
She shook her head, as much to dissuade him as to loosen the niggling kernel of doubt. “No. You feel good.” To emphasize this point, she pulled him down for a hard, fierce kiss. “So good.”
He wasn’t buying it. She could see the skepticism in his narrowed eyes. Fortunately, she was also in the perfect position to divert his attention. All it took was a little wriggle, and a hoarse groan broke in his chest. Their breaths mingled, and their noses bumped. He settled against her hips, his cock nestled into her damp curls. Her toes teased the soles of his feet.
He fit. They fit.
That transient bit of awareness chased the last of her cliché-ridden worry away. “Condoms. Nightstand.” She punctuated the words with soft, lingering kisses.
She should have known it wouldn’t work. He was an athlete at heart, filled with determination and a stubborn need to conquer even the smallest obstacles. She squirmed some more as he searched her eyes, but not in a sexy, don’t-you-want-me-baby sort of way. “What happened just then? What were you worried about?”
“Nothing,” she answered too quickly. When the corners of his gorgeous mouth turned down in a frown, she broke. “I just… It’s stupid.”
“Tell me.”
Gritting her teeth, she inhaled through her nose and let it go slowly. Sometimes, in order to score, a player had to suck it up and charge the goal. She might get hacked—or worse, blocked—but she had to take the shot. “We’re not enemies, are we?”
His scowl disappeared. In its place, he wore an expression of such blank surprise he almost looked like a cartoon character. Then he pointedly glanced down at their nearly joined bodies. “Enemies?”
“I told you it was stupid.” She spat the retort at him but refused to turn away. She’d committed to this shot, and she’d follow through. “It’s…with all this stuff. Millie, the reporters, the sparring and trash talk. Then this.” She ran her hand down his back, fingertips tracing the valley of his spine while her palm mapped the hard ridges that led down to his ass. “It’s a little…confusing.”
The line between his brows deepened. “I thought that was for show.”
The oxygen she’d been hoarding whooshed from her lungs. She didn’t bother even trying to hide her relief. “So we�
��re friends?”
He chuckled softly, clearly amused by the leaps in her logic, and lowered a bit more of his weight onto her. “I’d like to be.”
She raised her face for a kiss, and he obliged. A long, lazy kiss that would have made her feel foolish for asking if he hadn’t tasted so damn good.
“I’d say this feels pretty friendly.” He pecked kisses to each corner of her mouth, then shifted to concentrate on her neck and throat.
He found the sensitive spot beneath her ear, and she shivered. Then, like the masterful player he was, he exploited the weakness. Kate gasped and arched as he drew the tender skin into his mouth and sucked. She panted with a mixture of relief and disappointment when he let go.
He soothed the spot with his tongue, then scraped it with his teeth. The implication was a warning and a promise. One she hoped he planned to see through. But no. He just meandered along, covering her neck, throat, and shoulders with feathery kisses that left her head spinning.
At last, he shifted his body down. The move snugged the thick shaft of his cock against her clit. She parted her legs farther, a blatant invitation for him to give her the friction she craved. Instead, he chose to string feathery kisses along her collarbone. She moaned her delight and frustration, rolling her hips in a not-so-subtle reminder.
To her dismay, Danny pushed up on his hands, peeling his body from hers. She clutched at him with arms and legs, and they froze like that, two fierce competitors with strong bodies and equally enduring wills locked in a battle for something they both wanted.
Desperately.
“This isn’t going to be a fast break,” he said.
She laughed but didn’t loosen her hold on him.
