Chapter Eight
Rob
Don’t screw this up.
That seemed to be the refrain in my life, especially lately. Don’t screw up in the majors. Don’t screw up my at bat. Don’t screw up with the woman I couldn’t forget. And no matter what, don’t screw with the press.
And I was about to do just that. Screw with the press, big time, because the minute I touched her face, I knew I had to kiss her. And once I had my mouth on hers, I wasn’t going to stop.
I tried to hold back. I held my mouth an inch away from hers. I could feel the heat of her breath while the silky strands of her hair brushed my hands. Her eyes were wide, but a moment later, they fluttered closed.
Surrender. She was surrendering to me. And if I had any doubts, the way she arched her neck told me she wanted it as much as I did.
“This is so stupid,” I whispered.
“I know,” she said, the words almost a sigh. God, there was no lie in her. She wasn’t coy or flirty. Not even about this. And I couldn’t believe how much that sweetness turned me on.
I touched my lips to hers. Not a press. Just a barely there touch, and I heard her breath catch. Her hands were on my arms, squeezing my biceps. She hadn’t the strength to make it painful, but how my dick loved the way she pulled me closer.
One last try to keep it sane.
“Once I start, Heidi. I’m not going to stop.”
I knew it the moment she processed my words. Her arms clutched mine, her eyes popped open, and she looked straight at me. But she didn’t speak. Her mouth opened and just froze there. And in her silence, I voiced my greatest regret.
“I was such an idiot. I should have called you.”
She groaned. A rumble of sound that felt torn from her gut. Then before I could react, she slammed her mouth on mine. I tasted the soda she’d been drinking and the hot tang of mustard. I felt the thrust of her tongue against mine and heard my blood rush through my ears. I was out of my chair in a second, arching her back over the table. She wasn’t petite, but compared to me, she was practically weightless. I lifted her up easily, setting her on the table so I could plunder her mouth the way I wanted.
She curled a leg around mine, and her hands gripped my back. I felt the press of her fingertips. Not claws, but hard pressure points that made me maneuver between her knees. It only took one hand to slide up enough of her dress to know she wasn’t wearing panty hose and that her panties were lace.
Then she did something that made my brain explode. Something that ripped my attention away from how close my dick was to her wet heat.
She narrowed her lips until she surrounded my tongue, and she sucked hard. It was the hottest thing any woman had ever done to me. Startling. Erotic as hell. And it broke the last tether I had on any restraint.
I grabbed hold of her zipper and dragged it down her back. Her dress was dove gray, soft to the touch, but boring as hell. Once I peeled it down her shoulders, I revealed red-lace lingerie. Sure enough, that was Heidi. Restrained, quiet, and definitely professional. Until something had her letting go of her outer shell. A wet T-shirt contest so she could show off her magnificent chest. Or me unzipping a gray dress to show red lace cupping lush breasts.
I feasted my eyes on those mounds, seeing the tight ridge of her nipples. And then I had to look lower. Down to the lace panties beneath her scrunched-up dress.
Yes. Matching red lace.
“Rob,” she whispered, and I could see the flush building on her skin.
I wanted to see her face, but I couldn’t look away from that tantalizing strip of red over her mound.
“Rob?”
“You are so fucking gorgeous.” I had more words in my head. Sweet ones that were meant for times like this. Times when I wanted to go slow and make it good for the woman. But I couldn’t grab hold of them. All I could see was that red strip of lace over her mound. And the way I peeled it straight down her legs. Easy thing to do when the woman let you cup her ass and stroke the thing away. Down, down her legs, over the knees, until it dropped away.
And then I feasted.
I didn’t go slow. I had no control. I just had to get my mouth there and taste her again. She was trimmed close, as if she’d known we were going to do this. It didn’t matter. I tongued my way down into her cleft. Thrusting and swirling while her juices burst over my senses.
Hot spice.
Musky ginger scent.
And wet everywhere.
I loved every second of it. I licked her, I put my fingers and my tongue inside her, and when I felt her back arch and her legs tighten across my shoulders, I went in for the home run. I sucked her clit like she’d sucked my tongue. Once. Twice. And I had my fingers buried to the hilt inside her when she came.
God, the greedy clutch of her body almost made me explode right there.
“I can’t wait,” I said, ashamed to admit it. But I couldn’t.
She was still gasping for breath when I flipped her over. I pulled her off the table, my hands shaking but absolutely sure in where I wanted her. Then I pressed her forward so that she half lay—belly down—across the table. Then I put her hands flat on the window while she looked back at me with gloriously dazed eyes. I smiled at her, then let my gaze slide down to her sweet round ass, pink and perfect.
Condom. Don’t forget the condom.
Where the voice of reason came from, I didn’t know. But it was right, so I fumbled into my pocket for a foil packet. I couldn’t get my pants off fast enough and I sure as hell hated the cold wet of the condom. But I had the sight of her in front of me, spread out and ready. Glistening wet and…
“Take off your bra,” I rasped. “Please.”
She flashed me a smile that was half temptress, half adventurous lover. She popped that bright-red bra off and her sweet breasts sprang free.
I wasted no time stepping between her legs. Gently, I returned her hands to the window. God, I was going to love looking up at the press box from now on. But for the moment, I set her hands on the window again and whispered into her ear.
“Don’t move. Let me do everything.”
She nodded, and so I set my hunger free. I let myself take her breasts in my hands. Lush mounds that I squeezed and teased. Her nipples were hard points, and I liked twisting them because it made her cry out with a high-pitched gasp while she lifted her ass to me. She loved it when I did that to her, so I was able to time things just right.
I pinched her nipples hard, adding a twist at just the right moment. She arched and stretched up on her toes. And I slammed home.
Nothing slow. Nothing delicate. I just thrust right inside.
She was so wet that I had no problem, but God, when her body fisted me like that, I lost everything but the feel of her. The taste of her on my tongue, the tremble in her body, and the wet, hot slickness of her pussy.
I penetrated her over and over. No control. No rhythm. I just wanted more and more and more.
I heard her cry out. I couldn’t believe she’d just come from this. But her pussy clenched tight, then milked me with greedy pulls, and I gave it to her.
Hard push. Hard grind. Hard, hard, hard.
Yes!
Home run.
I exploded inside her and I kept going. I pulsed with more thrusts. I emptied every drop. And when I couldn’t move anymore, I reached between her body and the table, burrowing my fingers between her folds and began to stroke her again.
“Rob…” She gasped. “I can’t.”
“Please,” I said against her back. “Please squeeze me again.”
“I… Oh!” She was so slick there was no problem finding the place. She was so responsive that I knew when she stopped fighting the steady caress over her clit. When she breathed out and opened again for me. When her back arched and she moved against my fingers.
I stayed in her the whole time. I kept myself so embedded that she had no choice but to ride me. And then I sped up the tempo. I pinched as I slid, and I went faster and faster.
“Yes!” She gasped. “Just like that.”
I already knew that, because she was moving against me. Increasing the pressure. Riding my dick like a champion. And then it happened.
She came with a raw cry that had me bellowing as well. Her entire body fisted me with such pleasure that I felt like I was flying.
Yes! Grand slam.
Coming back to earth is always awkward. If we were on a bed, I’d have rolled off her and cuddled her close. But that wasn’t something that could happen on a table in the press room. As soon as I could support my own weight, I slid off her back. That meant coming out, and it was a crying shame. Cleanup took a little while, but thankfully we had napkins from dinner and a nearby trash can. And while I was doing that, she was straightening up. She smoothed down her hair and zipped up her dress. Then she grabbed a napkin and carefully wiped her palm prints off the window.
I wouldn’t have thought to do that and I appreciated her thoroughness. I didn’t want to embarrass her, and advertising what we’d just done wasn’t good for either of us. I picked up her panties. I knew it was cliché and truthfully, I’d laughed at guys who kept trophies of their conquests. But I wanted to keep her red lace. I wanted to smell them late at night and remember. I wanted to picture the color on her yellow-gold skin and think about how I’d peeled them down her legs.
Eventually she finished with the window and started to look around. I guessed she was searching for her panties, but I stopped her.
“I threw them out. I, um, ripped them.”
Her gaze went to the trash can. It was filled to overflowing. Janitorial hadn’t come through here yet.
“It’s buried underneath.” I’d even shoved the spent condom inside a coffee cup and crushed it. “I promise. No one will know.”
She nodded and flashed me a weak smile. “Thanks.” Then she brushed the hair out of her eyes. “This wasn’t my finest moment as a journalist.”
It was like she’d just hit me with an ice bucket. Jesus, did she think I’d wanted to fuck a reporter? That this had been anything but the stupidest thing I’ve ever done with my career? But I’d been fucking her. I’d been burying myself in the wonder of Heidi. Not some—
“I didn’t mean it that way,” she said, obviously seeing my expression. “I meant…I just…” She took a deep breath. “You always get me doing things I know I shouldn’t.”
“You wanted to,” I said. I’d wanted to. Like my next breath had depended on it.
“I did,” she said. “I just…” She shrugged. “I just don’t know what to do next.” Neither did I. And I loved that she was so open about what she was thinking. But that didn’t change the problem. We couldn’t date. Not if she stayed a journalist. No way would the Bobcats allow that. And if we couldn’t hang out together, just exactly what was left? Nothing. So maybe I could fudge the rules a bit. Maybe we could see each other as normal people?
“Do you, um, want to see a movie sometime?” Like tomorrow? Like right now?
“Um, yeah. That would be nice.”
“How about dinner first? Movie afterward.”
“Sure.” She flashed me an uncertain smile. One that had her eyes softening and her shoulders easing down. That was good. I wanted her relaxed around me. I mean, the sex was fantastic, but the after-sex awkwardness had to go.
I reached out my hand. She entwined her fingers in mine. Sweetly petite. Amazingly soft. I just wanted to tuck her close and never let her go.
“I’ll walk you to your car.”
“Okay,” she said. Then she sighed. “But we have to get my stuff.”
Back in Nico’s office. Right. “Okay.”
We walked hand in hand. We talked about what movie we wanted to see. About what restaurants she liked. I let her pick both. Thankfully, she selected the newest comic book movie, and I was grinning as I knocked on Nico’s office.
“Come in,” he said, his voice unusually cold.
I didn’t think anything of it at first. Honestly, I was too wrapped up in touching Heidi to care what Nico was doing. Except when I looked into the office, he was playing with his phone, spinning it over and over between two fingers.
Nico was not a man to fidget. He didn’t play with his clothing or his electronics. He kept his body under complete control all the time. So the fact that he was spinning that phone made me nervous. But before I could ask, his gaze cut hard and cold to Heidi.
“No articles, Miss Wong. Not even so much as a score report.”
She stiffened. I did, too. His tone was like a slap in the face. Especially since she’d already promised this wasn’t an interview.
“Nico—” I protested, but she cut me off.
“This wasn’t an interview,” she said, her voice suddenly hard. “I already promised that.”
“You can’t print anything about the Bobcats, Miss Wong, because you aren’t on the approved press list.”
“You have my press credentials right here,” she said as she grabbed her purse and lanyard.
“I’ve taken you off the list. You won’t be allowed in the press room again.”
I jolted. “Nico, cut it out,” I said. “Heidi and I are old friends.”
The man’s gaze drifted slowly to me. His expression was almost pitying. “You rookies are all the same. You don’t realize there are no old friends. Only leeches and the press.” It was clear from his tone that the press was the uglier creature.
I stiffened. “Look, asswipe—”
He tapped a button on his phone, then spun it so we both could see. There in stark black and white was video of me and Heidi. Of what we’d done on the table in the press room.
“Jesus—” I breathed, my entire body going cold.
“That’s the thing with this stadium. There are cameras everywhere,” Nico said. Then he stared hard at Heidi. “One word from you and this goes public. Imagine going for a job interview and having this be the first thing your employer sees after Googling you.”
“You fucking bastard!” She spit. Which was a lot nicer than the words that were flying through my brain. But I wasn’t a man for words. I went for the phone.
Nico tried to grab it, but I was faster. And while he was still reaching, I broke it in half. The crunch was audible, but not nearly as satisfying as I wanted. Especially when he rolled his eyes.
“It’s not stored on my phone. And I’m not planning to use it.”
“Then erase the files.” I was a large man, and he was sitting down. When I lean down and pitch my voice low, people tended to back away. I rarely got mean, but sometimes—
He grabbed my throwing arm with hard pressure. It was a quiet threat that was echoed in his eyes. I was a pro athlete, physically strong and definitely capable. But he’d been trained by the marines. There was no way I was going to win a fight between the two of us.
“Erase the files,” I said anyway.
“I’m not going to use them,” he said, his tone matching mine. Then he looked over at Heidi. “Not unless she breaks her word.”
“You can’t control what I write!” she said, her voice tight and angry.
“I can’t,” Nico agreed. “I was just showing you the consequences if anything comes out that has anything to do with our boy here.”
I slammed his hand off me, but I didn’t follow it up. Especially since he was ready with a counterpunch if I’d gone with my fists instead of my brain. “I’m not your boy,” I gritted out.
“No. You’re a rookie who doesn’t understand the press.” His gaze settled hard and heavy on me. “I’m protecting you.”
I wanted to punch him in the face. I wanted to take his phone pieces and shove them up his ass. But I saw in his expression that he meant what he said. He really did think he was protecting me. And maybe he had a point. Maybe Heidi had been playing me, but I didn’t believe it. Not for more than a second. But in that one tick of the clock, a sliver of doubt wiggled in.
She had gotten me to talk about things. Personal things that were meant for her alone. Plenty of careers had been destroyed with less. A casual statement overheard by an unscrupulous reporter. An accident that was nothing, but made to look like something.
I was the clean-cut kid from Nebraska. Or so the Bobcats claimed. I couldn’t afford to let anything damage that. Certainly not in my first season. There were too many ways to get bounced back to the minor league.
“She’s not going to print anything,” I said. Then I looked at Heidi.
She was flushed and angry. Her entire body was rigid with fury and her eyes blazed. But there was nothing either of us could do and she knew it. She’d come here for an interview, and now she couldn’t even print the scores without risking having that piece of filth plastered all over the internet.
“Heidi—” I pleaded, but I didn’t know where to go from there. I couldn’t fix this. I didn’t know how. Which left her blinking fast against tears she refused to let fall.
“Fuck you,” she whispered at Nico. Then she spun on her heel and left. The only thing that remained of her in the room was the Bobcats cap she’d flipped upside down on the desk.