Somehow that goal seemed to pale in comparison to the woman cuddled against his chest.
He was falling for the woman he’d sworn to hate.
Now what the hell was he going to do about that?
Chapter 19—Running the Option
Tyler’s high-rise condo was so silent you could hear the tension crackling through the room like rain on high-tension electrical wires. Kelsie wrung her hands and racked her brain for something witty and ice-breaking to say. Nothing came to mind. She glanced at her girlfriends. Rachel raised one eyebrow, while Lavender just shrugged.
Tyler sat on one side of the table, his handsome face as hard as granite. Zach sat on the other. His chin jutted out at that stubborn angle Kelsie recognized meant trouble to anyone crossing him. Derek sat at the head of the table, looking every bit like a man being led to the gallows. Tyler’s cat, Coug, jumped onto Ty’s lap and purred so loudly he could have been heard on the street several stories below. Ty stroked the cat and acted as if the rest of the room didn’t exist.
Standing behind Zach, Kelsie took a chance and stepped close enough to rub his knotted shoulders. He didn’t move or react. In fact, his shoulders tightened all the more.
Careful not to disturb the cat on his lap, Tyler propped his booted feet on an empty chair. He pasted a surly grin on his face. Zach glared right back, not budging an inch.
“You need a cat, Murphy.” Tyler finally broke the silence.
“A cat? Her little rat dog is bad enough.”
Kelsie glanced around at the mention of said rat dog. She should’ve left him home, but he hated being alone. As soon as she’d put him down on the floor, Tyler’s evil cat stalked him until Scranton cowered under the couch and refused to come out. Meanwhile, the cat appeared insufferably pleased with his furry little self.
“Yeah, a cat.” Tyler turned to Lavender. “Hey, Vin, find a grouchy tomcat for Murphy next time you volunteer at the animal shelter.”
“I don’t want a cat. I hate cats.”
For some reason Lavender and Tyler found that statement hilariously funny.
“I know just the cat.” Lavender winked at Tyler.
“Good. Cats are humbling experiences. You could use one.” Tyler grinned with smug satisfaction while Zach’s scowl turned downright stormy.
“You get me a cat, and I’ll—” Zach came halfway out of his chair. One hand on each shoulder, Kelsie pushed him back down in his chair. He was fuming to the point that steam should’ve come out of his nostrils.
“So, guys, we’ve got a lot of work to do.” Kelsie leaned over Zach’s shoulder and smiled at him, but her smile wasn’t working. Not tonight. He looked as if he’d rather do wind sprints than give an inch.
Tyler slammed his feet to the floor with a bang that sent all three women jumping and catapulted Coug onto the carpet. Shaking himself off, Coug glanced over his shoulder with one of those death looks only cats could administer. “We do not have a lot of work to do. You three do. You set us up. You fix it. I’m getting drunk.” On that note, Tyler rose to his feet, stomped to the refrigerator, grabbed three microbrews and an opener, and popped the caps. Returning to the table, he plunked down in the chair and passed out the beers to the men. Then he held up his bottle. They clinked bottles and effectively ignored the women.
Well, at least they were getting along.
Sorta.
Zach took a long pull on his beer and leaned the chair back on two legs. He stared at the ceiling and said nothing. Tyler whipped out his cell phone and started pressing buttons. Derek yawned and glanced at Rachel. Clearly, none of them wanted to be here.
Kelsie couldn’t blame them. She didn’t, either, but she felt responsible for this mess. Taking a deep breath, she pulled up a chair and sat down beside Zach, notepad in hand. “So, gentlemen, how are we going to raise enough money to beat last year’s donations? Let’s brainstorm some ideas.”
Pen poised, she waited.
And waited.
And waited.
“Brainstorming means you just throw out ideas. No idea is too stupid or too outrageous,” Kelsie suggested.
Nothing.
“No one criticizes ideas. Just throw them out.”
Nothing.
“Throw them out.”
Nothing.
“Uh, now.”
Kelsie looked to Derek, Rachel, and Lavender for help.
Lavender sat down next to Tyler. “We need to start calling the wealthiest people in the area.”
“Yeah, and we offer free tickets to a playoff game for each donation over a certain amount,” Rachel added.
“I can hit up some of the software companies,” Derek suggested.
Tyler rolled his eyes, and Zach snorted.
“Do you two have better ideas?”
Tyler blew out a long-suffering breath, or at least it sounded like one. “We need to go after the heavy hitters, and they already have season tickets.”
“Then how do we suck them in?” Zach flicked his gaze to Kelsie for a brief moment. The heat in his dark eyes sent a tingle of desire to her sex. Dang, she’d never been so crazed when it came to sex as she was with this guy. They’d both discovered sleep was highly overrated.
“We offer them a night out with a jock,” Kelsie threw out there. “Dine with the team captains at the Space Needle. All proceeds to charity.”
“Oh, no, I’m doing this stupid-assed gala because I don’t have a choice, but I’m not doing one more high-brow affair. No way.”
“Sounds stupid to me.” Tyler actually agreed with Zach.
“Fine, then you two come up with something. And don’t leave the room until you do.”
Zach grimaced, his mouth turned down so far at the corners it almost reached his chin. Tyler threaded his fingers behind his head and stared at the ceiling. Neither of the stubborn children were budging.
When she nodded at her friends, Kelsie and the other two girls left the room and slammed the door after them.
~ ~ ~ ~
Zach stared at the closed door. Nothing worse than one pissed-off woman unless it was several pissed-off women. He knew women. If he didn’t comply with Kelsie’s demands, she’d withhold sex from him. Even Harris and this fucking gala weren’t worth that. The scary-assed thing was that it wasn’t just the sex. Oh, he’d wanted it to be just about sex, but it wasn’t. His crush had turned into something worse, something more fatal to his emotional health.
Love. It had to be the most frightening four-letter word known to man.
She surely didn’t feel anything but fondness for him. He was a means to an end. A way to get what she wanted, and also, he now believed, a way to give back to him. She wanted to give to him. Imagine that. He’d be a fool to read more into her affections. She didn’t love him, but she did feel guilty, and she was fond of him. At one time, that would’ve been good enough, but now he wanted more.
Tyler snapped his fingers in front of Zach’s face, causing him to startle. “Hey, dumb shit, come back to earth.” Tyler blew out a long sigh. “Lavender’s going to make my life a living hell if we don’t come up with a viable plan.”
Derek shot them both a murderous glare. “Hey, how do you think I feel? You two assholes are the reason I’m stuck here instead of in bed with my lovely wife. Let’s make a list of possible donors and start calling them. Nothing new or exciting, just plain, old-fashioned fundraising.”
“Where do we get a list like that?” Zach rubbed his forehead. He had the mother of all headaches. The cat climbed off Tyler’s lap and onto Zach’s. Lying down, the little shit dug his claws into Zach’s jeans. “Dammit. That hurts.” Zach glared at the cat.
“Steelheads headquarters. They have all that kind of crap. And Veronica. She keeps track of who’s who in Seattle.” Tyler smirked at the cat, as if telling it to dig deeper. “I’ll take HQ.”
“Then who’s talking to Veronica?” Zach feared he already knew the answer.
Both Tyler and Derek’s heads swung in Zach’s dire
ction. He threw up his hands. “Oh, no, not me. She hates me, thinks I’m a Neanderthal.”
Tyler snickered. Derek ran his hands over his face and groaned.
“You’re just the person to talk to her. Show her how far you’ve come, what a great job Kelsie’s done smoothing those jagged edges.” Derek seemed way too fucking pleased with himself. And Zach used to like the guy.
“Yeah, that’s true. Show her how our pageant queen soothed an angry beast.”
“I’m not an angry beast.” He’d never been a fighter or a troublemaker off the field. He left it all out on the field. Just because he didn’t subscribe to Mabel Fay’s Manners Magazine or see the value in bullshit social niceties didn’t mean he was a jerk.
“Take Kelsie with you so she can run interference.”
“I don’t need to take Kelsie. I’m not a total moron.”
Derek and Tyler exchanged looks. “You’d better take Kelsie,” Derek decided.
They were right, yet it pissed Zach off that he had to depend on someone else. Still, the owner’s ball-busting daughter did instill a bit of fear in every man who ventured near her. She emasculated any guy who wandered within her sphere of influence and turned him into a wuss who lived with his mother.
Yeah, he’d take Kelsie with him and keep his junk intact.
~ ~ ~ ~
Zach wiped his sweaty palms on his black slacks. Kelsie had picked out the damn things at Nordstrom, and they’d cost more than the rest of the clothes hanging in the closet, minus the suits she’d also purchased. Crap, maybe he was a moron, a cheap-assed moron. Meanwhile, Kelsie sat next to him playing her part as the dutiful yet strong-willed girlfriend, dressed to the hilt in a sexy, soft pink suit she’d bought on that same shopping spree. Zach had converted a spare bedroom into a closet for her expanding clothes and shoe collection.
It had taken them a week to get an appointment with Veronica, and she made them come to her house in the evening instead of meeting with them at Steelheads HQ. Zach figured it was intentional.
At least the team won their last game, which should put her in a reasonably good mood. Plus, he’d played nice with Harris, complimenting him in front of the press. Thank God the man had deserved his praise.
Zach’s after-hours activities should’ve left him exhausted. Instead, he’d been all over that field, stuffed the running back behind the line of scrimmage countless times, and sacked the quarterback twice. He’d been awarded defensive player of the week.
Yet his on-the-field accomplishments paled compared to the elegant, sexy woman who’d been his partner these past couple weeks. Damn, just looking at her now puffed him up with pride, while desire infiltrated his tight control. Zach forced his thoughts away from this gorgeous woman. This definitely wasn’t the time for a hard-on.
Veronica breezed into the room, a glass of wine in hand. The woman liked her wine and could be a mean drunk. He hoped to God it was too early in the evening for her to be beyond her first glass.
Veronica ran her assessing gaze over Zach and graced Kelsie with a tense smile. Kelsie stood and they did that air-kiss thing women often did. At Kelsie’s prodding look, Zach lumbered to his feet. Veronica took a seat across from them, and Zach sat once the ladies sat, like a well-trained dog. He hated this bullshit manners crap. What the hell difference did being pompous make?
Veronica snapped her fingers and a servant magically appeared. The tall, thin man stood in the background. “Yes, ma’am?”
Zach almost snorted out a laugh. The guy had an English accent. Who the hell employed an English butler anymore?
“Wine for my guests, please. And some appetizers.”
Zach stiffened. Oh, crap, he didn’t want to eat or drink in front of this woman. Whenever he did, disaster happened, not just the time he’d spilled wine on her dress. At a preseason party welcoming new teammates, Zach had bumped her from behind, causing her to dump an entire plate of spaghetti on her expensive white suit.
The butler poured a minuscule amount of wine in a glass and handed it to Zach, then the guy stood nearby as if waiting for something. Zach glanced at Kelsie. She nudged him with a knee. Zach tried to remember all the dumb-ass rules for drinking wine that they’d gone over. He held it up to his mouth and took a sip. The stuff tasted like crap. Swallowing, he plastered a smile on his face and nodded. “That’ll be fine.”
Kelsie smiled encouragingly at him and squeezed his thigh in a show of support, an action that went straight to his sex-crazed cock and brain.
The butler smiled sympathetically at him and filled his glass about a quarter full, then filled the ladies’. Next, he positioned a tray of appetizers so small they were barely bigger than Zach’s pinkie. He stared at the minuscule bites.
He drew his hand back, stuffed his hands in his lap, and waited for Kelsie and Veronica to take one first.
Veronica picked up a tiny piece of something and placed it on her tongue. She savored it as if she were eating a huge, juicy steak. “So, I understand you’re looking for a donation list for the Christmas gala?”
Kelsie deferred to Zach. He sat up straight and tried his nicest smile. “Yes, we’ll be calling the potential donors in an attempt to get a commitment from them for dinner and the silent auction, which will also be offered online.”
“Let’s hope you start winning games. It’ll help your case.” Veronica smiled sweetly at Zach, as sweet as a viper about to strike.
“We won last week.” Zach defended not just himself but his team.
Zach caught the warning in Kelsie’s eyes. She turned to Veronica. “The arrangements are coming along nicely. Zach’s old mansion is perfect for this.”
“As you know, this gala has been hosted by my family in our home for years. So it’s definitely associated with our name and the team. I’m expecting this year’s to be as spectacular as past galas.”
“We’ll do you proud.” Zach forced a smile.
She didn’t appear to believe him. “I hope so.”
Zach scooped up a couple of tidbits and popped them in his mouth. Good thing he could barely taste them, because what he could taste, tasted like crap.
A short time later, they left with the coveted list. Kelsie managed to get a commitment from Veronica to call some of the billionaires personally. Zach pulled out of the long, winding driveway and onto the street.
“You did fine.” Kelsie leaned over and kissed his cheek.
Zach squared his shoulders and puffed up his chest. “You really think so?”
“Yes, better than a few months ago.” She rubbed his knee. Her touch went straight to his dick.
“Veronica didn’t appear to think so.”
“Veronica expects perfection. I don’t.”
Zach sighed and kept his eyes on the road. “I’m trying. Really I am.”
“In your own weird way, I believe you are.”
She had no idea how hard he was trying.
Trying not to fall so deeply for her that he’d never recover.
~ ~ ~ ~
Kelsie sat in the passenger seat and chewed on her lower lip. Zach’s aftershave teased her nostrils, making her hyperaware of the big man next to her, not that he needed aftershave to catch her attention. His pure physical presence did that. She studied his face in the dashboard light and loved what she saw.
Over the past few weeks, she’d explored every inch of his muscular body, run her fingers through his thick dark hair, and kissed his very sexy mouth. She marveled at how such a big, powerful man could be so gentle and caring, even as he fought not hating her every step of the way.
A lock of his dark hair fell across his creased forehead. She pushed it aside while he gripped the steering wheel, as if attempting to concentrate on the road. She placed her hand on his knee.
“Zach?”
“Yeah?” He stared straight ahead, but his hands tightened on the steering wheel as he maneuvered his too big truck around cars parked on too narrow streets.
“I want you.” Her voice sounded oddl
y breathless. She always wanted him. In fact, wanting occupied way too much of her time. Sure, she’d enjoyed sex before, but not like this. Never like this. This melding of two minds and two bodies went beyond normal sex.
“Right now?”
Kelsie smiled and slid her hand higher until she stroked his crotch. His erection strained against the expensive fabric of his trousers. She took mercy on him by unzipping his pants, if you could call it mercy. She wanted her hands on him.
“Kelsie. Stop.” His hoarse growl didn’t have anything to do with stopping. In fact, reading between those lines, his brain screamed, Go, go, go.
“You’re so sexy in such an incredibly male way.” She slid her hand under the waistband of his boxers and stroked him.
A tortured groan was ripped from his chest. His eyes rolled back in his head until he almost hit a parked car and swerved to miss. “Damn, woman, you’re going to make me crash.”
“Then pull over. We’re still several minutes from home, and I can’t wait. I want you now.” He’d reduced her to this, so sex-crazed she’d do it in a car on a residential city street.
“You’re evil.” By his tone of voice, he loved her brand of evil.
“Always have been. Always will be.”
For a moment, his expression faded to confusion. She knew why. Bad choice of words. She’d reminded him of what a manipulative bitch she’d been, but this wasn’t about manipulation. This was about lust—pure animal lust and a lot more.
Kelsie glanced around the street, looking for a dark, secluded spot. A city park with a small lot for a few cars was only a block away. She pointed at it, and Zach read her mind. He sped toward it while Kelsie milked his cock with her hand. Just as he turned into the parking lot, she lowered her head and took him in her mouth.
“Oh, damn.” He braked to a stop, rammed the truck into park, and switched off the ignition in a series of frenzied moves. Kelsie opened her mouth wide and took him inside. He arched his hips and pressed deeper into her mouth. Burying his fingers in her hair, he pushed her down farther. When the head of his penis touched the back of her throat, she pulled back. He let her, even though his fingers tangled in her hair.
Offsides: The Originals (Seattle Steelheads Book 3) Page 19
