by Tara Wyatt
She shifted on his lap, working his cock in and out of her, sending water sloshing dangerously close to the edge of the tub. With her arms wound around his neck, her fingers in his hair, she started to ride him, taking him with slow, deep thrusts that he wanted to go on forever. But more than that, he wanted to feel her come undone around him, and so he slipped a hand between them and found her clit with his fingers, stroking her in steady circles, exactly the way he knew she liked.
She pressed her forehead to his, her hips rocking, her inner muscles pulling at him in a way that he knew was going to make him see fireworks, and soon. It was always so good with her. Always. Why couldn’t figuring the rest of their shit out be as simple as this? As easy and effortless and perfect?
He kissed her, matching the slide of his tongue against hers to the rhythm of her hips, of his fingers. Her thighs quivered and she made the most delicious whimpering sound just before she ground out his name, coming hard. Her pussy clenched and fluttered around him and he dropped his hands to her hips, taking over the rhythm as she shook and writhed on his lap.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes,” she chanted, her head rolling back and forth. He drove up and into her one last time and let himself go, unable to hold back any longer. He came in several long spurts deep inside her, the release leaving him feeling spent and awake at the same time. Like fireworks bursting, just like he’d predicted.
She slumped forward, collapsing against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.
“I love you,” she murmured against his skin, and even though they’d won tonight, knowing Abby loved him felt like the real victory.
Thirteen
LONGHORNS’ CATCHER JAKE LANDON’S HOT ELEVATOR HOOKUP…WITH HIS COACH!
Jake Landon and Abby Gossman—notable for being the MLB’s first female coach—enjoyed a steamy makeout sesh in a hotel elevator last night following the Dallas Longhorns’ wild card victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Apparently, the two felt the need to celebrate the team’s big win with kisses and booty grabs in Baltimore. The video, leaked to us anonymously by an employee at the Convention Center Hilton, where the team was staying, shows some serious PDA between player and coach. To check out the whole video, click the link below, but be warned—it’s not exactly SFW.
The next morning, Abby’s phone buzzed from her nightstand as her alarm went off, and she reached for it, her limbs feeling pleasantly heavy after a night of victory and orgasms. Jake had left, heading back to his room around three in the morning, and she’d quickly fallen into a deep, satisfied sleep. Today, the team would head to Houston in preparation for tomorrow night’s game against the Astros, the first in the AL Division Series.
She swiped her thumb across her screen to turn off the alarm, but then frowned when she saw all of the little icons lined up. Text messages, emails, tagged Facebook posts, tweets, Instagram notifications. Had something big gone down? Shit. Worry tugged at her as she opened her texts. The very first one waiting for her was from Javi, who’d forwarded her a link from a famous celebrity gossip site without comment. Tension mounting inside her, she clicked it.
About ten seconds later, she felt as though her body were collapsing in on itself from the weight of the panic and the humiliation crushing her. Someone had leaked a security video of her and Jake kissing in the elevator last night. She forced herself to watch the video, her heart pounding sluggishly, hoping against hope that maybe it was grainy enough that there’d be some degree of deniability.
But no. The video was crystal clear. Anyone who knew them could tell it was clearly her and Jake. Her and Jake kissing. Jake’s big hand squeezing her ass. Abby’s hands in Jake’s hair, disappearing under his T-shirt. Grinning like goddamn idiots at each other as they got off the elevator.
An uncontrollable shiver wracked her, and she thought she might throw up. She forced herself to take a couple of deep breaths, and then she did a quick skim through the social media notifications.
Which, in hindsight, was the worst idea ever. Well, aside from getting caught up in the moment and making out with Jake in a fucking elevator, anyway. Because online there was nothing but ugly, awful vitriol, directed entirely at her. Comments that she should be fired. That this was why women shouldn’t coach men’s sports. That she was a slut, a whore, or surprise that she liked men. A little bitter knot formed in her stomach as she read. Naturally, none of the comments were about Jake. No, they were all about her and the horrible thing she’d done. She was a seducer, a manipulator, an unscrupulous witch.
Fucking misogyny.
Her face was hot, and her breath hitched in her chest. With shaking fingers, she called Jake’s phone. He answered on the third ring, his voice a little rusty with sleep. Just the sound of it had tenderness welling up in her chest, but she quickly squashed it down.
“Hey, we need to talk,” she said, a wave of dizziness washing over her, despite the fact that she was lying down.
“Uh…is everything okay? You sound weird.”
“No. It’s really not, Jake.”
“I’m coming up.”
“No!” The harsh syllable was out of her mouth before she could stop it. “I’m sending you a link, if you haven’t already gotten it. Hang on.” She copied the link and texted it to him, waiting in agonizing silence as he opened it and read it.
“Motherfucker,” he whispered from the other end.
“Yeah.”
“Shit, Abby, I’m sorry. I didn’t think…Fucking hell.”
“I didn’t think either.”
A silence fell between them, and then he asked the question she was dreading, because she didn’t have any answers. “What now?”
“I don’t know, Jake. I don’t even know if I still have a job. And if I do, I have to try to figure out how to face the guys. Face the fans. You should see what people are saying about me online. It’s awful.” Her voice cracked and she sucked in a shuddering breath. It felt as though her world was collapsing around her. Everything she’d worked so hard for might be gone forever.
She heard him take a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. We’ll figure this out. What can I do? Anything I can do to make this better, I’ll do it.”
She bit her lip and pressed a hand to her stinging eyes. “I don’t know. It might be too late. I don’t know.” She was humiliated, terrified she’d lose the job she loved, and she knew this would be more than just a little bump in the road for her and Jake. She loved him, but if she got fired because of her relationship with him…she didn’t know. How could she move forward if they were still together? Her stomach rolled as a wave of nausea crested at the idea of letting him go.
All roads led to anguish.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Abby. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“I know.” She swallowed, her throat dry and aching. There was a sharp rap at her door. “Someone’s here. I have to go. I’ll…I’ll text you, okay?”
“Okay. Abby?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
She closed her eyes, hard, squeezing them shut. “I love you.” She disconnected the call and flung the twisted duvet cover back, her legs unsteady when she stood. She padded to the door, another knock sounding before she got there.
“Abby, it’s me,” came Javi’s voice. “Let me in.”
She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or panicked that he was here. On the one hand, he’d given her the heads up about the article in the first place, but on the other, he was kinda sorta her boss. She took a breath, squared her shoulders, and opened the door, telling herself she was ready to face whatever was on the other side.
Javi stood there, holding two cups of coffee. He cocked an eyebrow at her, and after a second, she stood back and let him in, closing the door behind him. Without a word, he handed her one of the cups and took a seat in the armchair by the window. She sank down onto the messy bed and drank her coffee. After a few more mouthfuls, she gathered the courage to ask the question weighing on her.
“Am I fired?”
She toyed with the paper sleeve around the outside of the cup, picking at it.
He shook his head, his jaw tight. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Her limbs turned to spaghetti as relief flowed through her. Javi wasn’t pissed. Not only that, but he had her back.
“I’m really sorry, Javi. We…didn’t think.”
He glanced at her, his deep eyes flashing with an unreadable emotion. “Is Landon the one you’ve been seeing?”
She licked her lips and nodded. “Yeah. We’ve been a couple for a while now. We met during the off-season and started dating. We were always so careful to keep it quiet because I knew how it would look, and then he got traded here. Things got complicated and messy. I never meant to do anything to damage the team’s reputation.” She stood, paced away a few steps, then returned to the bed and sat back down. “I need you to know that this wasn’t me sleeping with random players, or taking advantage of guys on the team. It was never like that. Jake’s my boyfriend, and has been for months.”
“So it’s a serious relationship?” he asked, his tone a little flat.
She nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I mean…yeah.” They hadn’t spent much time talking about the future, but she knew how she felt about Jake and how he felt about her. Her face tingled with a prickling flush as Javi studied her.
“I can’t believe someone at this hotel did this. We’ll find out who it was. And you can be damn sure there won’t be any more teams staying here.” His voice was low with anger, his fingers clenched tightly around his coffee cup.
Abby nodded, and while she was glad to hear him say that, it didn’t really help with her current situation. “So what do I do now?” She hated how small she sounded. How small she felt. Hated that loving Jake might’ve cost her everything. Everything.
Javi pursed his lips, staring out the window. “Let me talk to the top brass, to the PR people, and see how they want to handle it.” He stood and shook his head. “I wish you would’ve told me when Landon was traded here. Maybe we could’ve avoided all of this.”
She held her hands out at her sides. “It’s a nice thought, but I don’t see how. We tried to keep things quiet, hell, we even tried to break up for a few weeks, but it didn’t stick.” She smiled sadly. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but having someone else know…I don’t do vulnerable very well.”
Javi looked like he wanted to say something, but then frowned and took a sip of his coffee. “I’ll talk to everyone I need to talk to. In the meantime, maybe keep your distance from Landon. Don’t want to add any more fuel to the fire.”
Abby nodded, an ache starting up somewhere near her heart. She was hurting. Humiliated and scared. Angry and panicked and worried. All she wanted was the feeling of Jake’s arms around her, his reassuring scent enveloping her, his heart beating steadily against her cheek. She felt almost desperate for the one thing she couldn’t have because her career—her life, her identity—was hanging in the balance because of that one thing.
Javi started to move toward the door, stopping to lay a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get through this, okay? I’m on your side. You and Landon are both consenting adults, in a committed relationship that started long before he was a member of the team. You should’ve disclosed that when he was traded, but we can’t change the past.” He headed for the door, then turned back and flashed her a small grin. “Oh, and if I find out who leaked that video, I might need you to bail me out of jail. Just a heads up.”
She shot him a wavery smile, grateful to have his support, even as she knew that it might not be enough to save her. The damage was done.
Jake’s stomach churned as he slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and made his way down to the team bus, waiting to take them all to the airport for their flight to Houston. The first game against the Astros was tomorrow night, but all Jake could think about was Abby. Yeah, she was a grown woman and she made her own decisions, but he couldn’t help but feel that this was his damn fault. He should’ve been more careful with her. Should’ve protected her more. Should’ve stopped to think for just two fucking seconds that there might be cameras around. Guilt tightened his chest, making it harder to breathe. He should’ve found a way to prevent this. To keep her safe.
And now she might lose her job, lose everything she’d worked for because of him. Because of them.
Even though they’d both agreed to the secret relationship, he felt like the world’s biggest asshole. He desperately wanted to find a way to fix it, both in the hopes of saving her career and salvaging their relationship, but he didn’t even know what needed fixing yet. Fuck, she probably felt like she had her head on the chopping block, just waiting for the axe to fall. And he’d helped put her there by not using his fucking head and protecting her from scrutiny.
He stepped onto the bus and all of the excited chatter ceased almost immediately. Abby wasn’t on board yet, so Jake moved toward an empty seat and dropped into it, feeling the weight of twenty-plus sets of eyeballs on him. He pushed a hand through his hair and then pretended to hunt for something in his bag.
“So was she good, Landon? I always suspected Gossman had a nice, juicy peach,” Lorenzo Gustin, the team’s third baseman said. A few other players snickered while everyone else was silent. Jake ground his teeth, anger flaring through him, and said nothing. Starting a fight would do nothing to help anything right now, as much as he wanted to punch Gustin right in his goddamn mouth.
“What’s so special about you, anyway?” chimed in A.J. Braun, one of the relief pitchers. “How come the rest of us don’t get a celebration fuck?”
Jake’s pulse sped, red tinging the edges of his vision. “Fuck you, Braun.”
Braun grinned at him. “See, that’s my complaint, is that she didn’t.”
Jake’s entire body tensed and he pushed up out of his seat. “Don’t say another fucking word about her.” His nostrils flared and his lip curled. “Or I’ll break your goddamn teeth.”
Braun just laughed again. “Someone’s got a crush on the teacher,” he said in a taunting tone. Gustin laughed.
“That’s enough!” Hunter barked the words from the front of the bus. All heads, including Jake’s, turned in his direction. Dylan and Beau stood just behind him, arms crossed over their chests. Silence once again enveloped the bus. Hunter took a few steps forward, surveying every single man. “Sit down. All of you. Now.” Asses found seats and Hunter waited a beat before speaking again. When he did, Jake could hear the barely leashed anger in his voice.
“What happened to Gossman and Landon was a huge invasion of their privacy. It was a betrayal. If you want to be mad at someone, if you want to talk shit, talk shit about the cretin who leaked that video.” He shook his head. “Abby’s one of us. She busts her ass for us, to make us better, and look where we are? We’re about to go play the Astros in the motherfucking ALDS. If you think we’d be here without her, you need to get your head out of your ass, because you’re wrong. Dead wrong.” Hunter paused again, meeting the eyes of several players. “So, if you have a problem with Abby, you have a problem with this team, and we don’t need you. We’ll be fine without you. More than fine, because there’s no room for that kind of shit on this bus, or in our clubhouse, or in the dugout.” His eyes stared daggers at Gustin and Braun. “And if you disagree with anything I’ve had to say, you can take it up with me, personally.”
“Or me,” said Beau casually. “We don’t need any douchebags on our team. You wanna be a douchebag? There’ll be consequences.”
“Or me,” said Dylan. “What happened to Abby was wrong. Her gender doesn’t matter—she’s a Longhorn, and if I hear one more disgusting, vile thing about her, we’re gonna have a problem. A big fucking problem.”
Hunter gave every guy on the team another once over before nodding. “I think that’s settled. And like I said, you have a problem, take it up with me.”
“If anyone has a problem with Gossman or Landon, you can just fly right back to Dallas alone,” said Javi
from the very front of the bus. “End of story.”
And then Abby got on the bus, looking pale and tired. She didn’t meet anyone’s eyes, just took a seat right at the front of the bus and jammed her headphones over her ears. Jake’s entire body vibrated with the need to go to her, to comfort her, to tell her he’d find a way to fix it and protect her. But he couldn’t do any of that, and she probably didn’t want him to. So he put his own headphones on, shooting Hunter a grateful smile when he took the seat next to him. Hunter just nodded, as though him having Abby’s back was the simplest thing in the world.
Jake sat back against his seat and closed his eyes, trying to figure out how to breathe around the knot in his chest.
Later that day, Abby sat on one of the thin leather-trimmed chairs in a boardroom at the Four Seasons in Houston. Late afternoon sunshine spilled across the rectangular black and chrome table from the wall of windows at her back. Apparently, it was all hands on deck for the PR crisis she’d created, which only added to her shame. For a second, she fantasized about standing up and walking out of the conference room, not looking back. But that wasn’t fair. This was her mess. She’d created this with her reckless, selfish, indulgent behavior with Jake.
She blew out a breath as activity buzzed around her. She’d been so stupid to think she could just have everything. Never in her life had that ever been the case. The dichotomy had always been there: baseball or something else. Baseball or dating. Baseball or prom. Baseball or life. She’d tried to have it all this time, and she might be left with nothing.
Laurel, the team’s PR guru, sat across from her, along with Javi, a few lawyers, Tom Aldridge, the team’s GM, and Robert Cummings, the team’s owner. Everyone talked around her, over her, as though she wasn’t there.
“I think Abby and Jake should simply go public with their relationship and tell the truth. Fans will support it,” said Laurel, chewing on her bottom lip. “The media already have the upper hand here. We need to take it back.”
