Chapter 2

JULY 1

T-MINUS 82 DAYS

My bed feels so damn good.

I’m only half-awake, semiconscious, in that state where I could wake up or I could let myself drift back to sleep.

Do I have to get up? What day is it?

I try to sort through things in my head…the wedding. The wedding was Saturday night, so this is Sunday…I don’t have to get up. Nice.

Then my body springs into alertness. Wedding. Kendra. I went back to her room last night. But I don’t remember leaving her room…or going home.

I’m not at home. This isn’t my bed. I crank my eyes open and peer into the dim hotel room. Dark blue curtains cover the windows so I’m not even sure if it’s morning. I turn my head and there’s a tablet on the bedside table. I squint at it. Jesus Christ. It’s past noon.

My head whips around the other way to find I’m alone in the king-size bed.

Shit.

I stare at the ceiling. What the hell happened last night?

I remember making out with Kendra. Jesus, her mouth. She kisses like a wet dream and we rolled around on the bed for a while getting so goddamn hot I remember thinking I was going to come in my pants.

The pants I’m still wearing.

For fuck’s sake.

My mouth feels like the bottom of a birdcage. I run my tongue over my teeth and grimace.

I throw back the covers, which are amazingly soft and obviously expensive, and swing my legs over the side of the bed. Surprisingly, I don’t feel bad. Mostly confused.

That’s when I hear the door of the hotel room open.

I look up and see Kendra walk in, her hands full of…I don’t know what.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” She sets her stuff down on the dresser and flicks on a lamp.

She’s just as gorgeous today, wearing a sundress in an orange and yellow floral print.

“Yeah.” I grimace. “I can’t believe what time it is. You should have woken me up.”

“I tried.” She flashes a smile. “Believe me, I tried. You were out cold.” Then her forehead creases. “I was a little worried about you. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” I rub my face, my eyes feeling like someone dumped a bag of sand in each one. “I don’t know what happened.”

She walks over and sits beside me on the bed.

“Don’t get too close,” I say, trying to shift away. “I probably smell terrible.”

She hands me a toothbrush in a package. “Here.”

I stare at it. Then take it. “Thank you. I’d kiss you to show you my gratitude, but…”

She laughs. “Go use it, and then you can show me your…gratitude.” She lifts an eyebrow.

Jesus. “I, uh, didn’t show it to you last night?”

She laughs, a genuine, delighted sound that makes something flip in my chest. She reaches over and pats my stubbled cheek. “Sadly, no.”

I suck in air and let it out.

“Go clean up,” she says. “I brought you some coffee and food, too.”

“Jesus. Thank you.”

I rise off the bed and head to the bathroom. I use some of the toothpaste sitting on the vanity and thoroughly brush my teeth, then guzzle down a glass of cold water. I splash more cold water onto my face and run my hands through my hair, which is sticking up in all directions.

My reflection in the mirror doesn’t look that bad. I don’t feel hungover…just disoriented. And embarrassed.

For fuck’s sake. I finally give myself permission to scratch the itch. I get a chance to get laid, and I fucking pass out. Kendra must think I’m the world’s worst loser.

I grip the edge of the vanity. Maybe I’m not supposed to get laid. Ever. Maybe I’m supposed to be celibate for the rest of my life.

I could do that.

No. I can’t do that. Even now, despite my humiliation and slight dehydration, my dick is making his presence known. He wants action.

Kendra might have something to do with that. Sure, I’ve been horny before this. And like I said, a little five on one action takes care of that. But since I saw her last night at the wedding, my balls have been aching for relief.

Well, I guess I blew that chance.

I kind of want to stay in the bathroom forever, but that’s not possible, so I open the door and walk out. Kendra is shaking out my dress shirt and hanging it over the back of a chair. She looks up and her eyes warm as she takes in my hair. Her gaze tracks over my bare chest and lower….I tighten my abs. I’m painfully aware that my torso isn’t in the same shape it was a year and a half ago. I used to have an eight-pack, but now I’m soft and flabby.

But Kendra’s eyes go even hotter, as if she likes what she sees. “Feel better?”

“Uh, yeah. Some.”

“Have a seat.” She gestures at the small table in front of the window. She opened one curtain and sunshine now pours in, glinting off windows of the downtown skyscrapers outside.

I sit on a cream leather chair. A vase of pale, exotic-looking flowers sits on the round table and there’s a frickin’ orchid plant on a table behind Kendra. This hotel is pure class.

Kendra pushes a big cardboard cup of coffee and a plate with a variety of pastries toward me. “I wasn’t sure how you take your coffee.” She sits across from me with her own cup of coffee. “There’s cream and sugar if you need it. I stole the food from the family brunch.”

“You’ve already done that?”

“Yeah.” She sips her coffee while I empty two little creamers into mine. I should be drinking it black, but oh well. “I didn’t like to leave you, but I had to show up.” She sinks her teeth into her plush bottom lip, then shakes her head. “I figured if you weren’t awake when I got back, I’d call an ambulance.”

“Jesus!” I give a short laugh. “No need for that. I’m fine. Really.” I take a big gulp of coffee, then set it down to peel the wrapper off a huge muffin. “This is great. Probably shouldn’t be eating this, though. My cheat day was yesterday.”

“Cheat day?”

“Yeah. I’m on a diet.”

She gives a low laugh. “As if you need to diet.”

“I do need to lose a few pounds.” I break off some of the blueberry muffin and pop it in my mouth. When I swallow, I add, “I should be eating chia seed porridge or something. Ugh. I started a new training program this week. I was exhausted, and my muscles were killing me yesterday, so I took an Aleve. I think that might have interacted with the alcohol.”

“I didn’t think you were that drunk.”

“I might have been a little drunk,” I admit. “But yeah, that’s never happened to me from drinking a few beers.” I meet her gaze. “So…I guess I passed out before we…”

“Fucked?”

Okay, then. I like this woman. “Yeah.”

“Again, sadly, yes. I’m trying not to be insulted.” One corner of her mouth kicks up.

“Jesus! Don’t be insulted! Are you kidding me? You’re gorgeous and sexy, and I was so fucking hot for you I thought I was going to die.” I pause. “I’m really, really sorry, Kendra.” I meet her eyes. “Please don’t take it personally.”

“Okay,” she says softly.

“I can’t believe that happened. Honestly? I feel like crying.”

She leans back in her chair with a grin. “That’s hard to picture, big tough guy like you.”

She doesn’t know me. She has no idea all the tears I’ve shed over the past year and a half. But I’m not about to try to convince her I’m a big baby.

“You don’t need to cry.” She pauses. “Unless you have to go right away…?”

I blink at her, my coffee halfway to my mouth. “Uh…”

“I’ve done my family duty. The rest of my day is open.”

“Me, too,” I say slowly. Greg Stewart, the trainer-slash-torturer I’ve hired, has me working out five days a week, but weekends are rest days.

A one-night stand was something I could handle. The plan was supposed to be that we came to her room, had some hot, sweaty, hopefully mutually satisfying sex, and then I said goodbye and left.

But here in the bright light of day, spending the day with her feels…intimate. I can’t do intimate.

“Then stay,” she says lightly.

I study her face as I try to figure out what the hell I should do. She looks confident and relaxed, but I can see a hint of nerves in her beautiful eyes, as if she’s worried I’m going to say no.

My body wants to stay. Because even in broad daylight, she’s smokin’ hot. Her makeup is subtler today, but she’s still beautiful. The dress isn’t as glamorous as the sparkly bridesmaid dress, but it’s pretty and feminine and shows off her toned arms and legs. The sun lights up her hair in a thousand shades of red and brown and gold. Oh, hell, yeah, my body wants to stay.

“I guess you’ve figured out I’m not very good at this,” I finally say.

Her eyes gleam. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. Not at all. You were doing really well last night.”

“Until I passed out.”

She laughs. “Yeah.”

“What a loser.”

“You’re not a loser. Not at all.” She shakes her head. “It’s like you don’t even know how hot you are. You have no idea how sexy that is.”

My dick pulses. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”

She pauses. “Are you a virgin?”

I choke on my coffee. “No! Hell the fuck no!” I shake my head. “It’s just been a while.”

“Ah.” She smiles.

“Look, I have to be honest with you. It’s been a while since I had sex, and yeah, last night I was up for it—literally.”

She laughs.

“And honestly, I still am.” I look down at my dick, who is insistently pushing at the fabric of my pants. “But that’s all I’m up for. I’m not looking for any kind of relationship. I have one thing I need to focus on right now, and that’s getting in shape for training camp.”

She eyes me thoughtfully and it’s hard to know what’s going on inside that gorgeous head. Then she nods. “Well, a relationship would be pretty difficult since I live in New York. I have a busy life, too, and not that I’d be using you, but I like sex and I’m attracted to you and neither of us has anywhere else we have to be, so…”

“So what? We just jump back into bed?”

“It’s called afternoon delight.”

“I feel there should be some sort of seduction.”

“You want me to seduce you?”

I bark out a surprised laugh. “I meant I should be seducing you.”

Her lips part as she quickly inhales, staring at my smile.

“What?”

“I like it when you laugh. As for seduction…we could dance again.” She reaches for her phone and plays around with it, then sets it on the table. She stands and holds out a hand to me.

I shake my head, a smile pulling at my lips, but I stand, too, and take her hand. My other hand goes to her waist as the music starts—the song we danced to last night, “Stay with Me” by Sam Smith.

Our eyes meet and we share a smile as we begin to dance in the hotel room.

“You know what else works for me?” She gives me a look. I can’t even describe it…her head tilts down a little, her eyes are wide, and fire streaks through me straight to my balls. There’s something about her that’s just crazy appealing to me.

“What?”

“Kissing.”

My chest tightens and my dick throbs. I lean down to kiss her.

A groan rises in my chest at the feel of her lips against mine, so soft, so lush. I give her another short, soft kiss, and another, and then I can’t stop myself from going deeper, opening my mouth on hers.

She opens to me, kissing me back, and I lick inside, tasting vanilla and coffee. Her hands slide into my hair, which makes all kinds of tingles slide down my back and pool at the base of my spine. Electricity tightens every nerve ending in my body.

She makes a little purring sound in her throat and I slide my mouth from her to kiss her cheek, just in front of her ear, then the side of her neck. I can’t resist opening my mouth on her soft skin and sucking, just a little, and her breath hitches.

The music swells around us, but we’re not dancing anymore.

I slide my tongue down her neck. I want to taste her everywhere, and I open my mouth on her shoulder in a long, slow tongue kiss. I hook my fingers into a little strap and lift my head to watch her face, making sure I’m seeing agreement there. Her eyes are moss-dark and her lips are swollen, and with the tiniest nod of her head she encourages me to keep going.

“See?” she says in a breathy tone. “Dancing and kissing are an excellent start to seduction.”

A smile lifts the corners of my lips. Her eyes widen a little, lingering on my mouth. She lifts a hand and touches her forefinger to my bottom lip, rubbing over it. I open my mouth and close my teeth gently on her finger. She whimpers.

The bed is right there, big and rumpled, and I already know it feels like a fucking cloud with thousand-thread-count sheets and a feather duvet. I spin her around and dance her over the carpet toward it, then pick her up in my arms.

She gives a little gasp and hangs on to my shoulders. I kneel on the bed and move to the center where I lay her down so gently. We’re in shadows here, the slice of sunlight illuminating the other side of the room. I stretch out on my side next to her, admiring her. She toes off the strappy sandals she’s wearing and kicks them off the bed.

For a moment I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know where to start because she’s beautiful everywhere, lush and feminine, sweet-smelling and soft. I want to sink into her, but I know I can’t just jump on top of her like I’m a sex-starved prison inmate.

I cup her face and turn it to mine and I kiss her again, longer, deeper, letting her taste flow into me, into my veins like a drug. The music has stopped now and the only sounds in the room are Kendra’s soft sighs and the low growls of pleasure rising in my throat.

God, this feels good.

I’m remembering last night, the scorching kisses we shared, but this is even better because I’m completely here. Right here with her and she’s kissing me back, endlessly, on and on. She moves with me, against me, her body quivering with desire, our mouths and tongues sliding together, her taste and smell filling my senses. My dick is as hard as a goalpost and my balls are aching. Heat pounds through my veins.

Christ, she smells amazing, layers of spice and sweet and arousal, feminine and rich and decadent. “Kendra.” I brush my mouth over her jaw.

“Max.”

“Yeah. I’m here. This time I am so here.”

Her hand drifts over my shoulder, then my chest. I’m still shirtless, and her touch leaves trails of heat on my skin. I need to feel her skin…more of it…all of it. I stroke a hand down her arm, then back up, my fingertips lingering on her clavicle, my palm hovering so close to her breast.

The moment stretches out long and throbbing. She makes a needy little sound, and I do it…I press my hand to the soft fullness there.

It’s heaven. Supreme bliss. Euphoria streams through my veins.

Christ. If I’m this high from touching her tit, imagine when I get my mouth on the Promised Land between her legs.

I tried cocaine once.

Yeah, I know, fucking idiot. I was young, rich, and stupid, at a party with a bunch of players from the team when I was a rookie all wide-eyed and eager to fit in. There was all kinds of shit available. I got high, but I didn’t really like it. I consider myself lucky I never got addicted to it, because I’ve seen guys who’ve destroyed their career because of drugs.

This, though…this could be addictive. This high…this ecstasy making me dizzy…wow, this is nuts.

Kendra’s hands are all over me, my back, my shoulders, my chest, tracing my muscles and the tattoo on my biceps. She rubs my pecs and sensation shoots to my groin.

I need more skin. I tug at the bodice of her dress, but her fingers go to the little buttons there and she undoes them…one, two, three…one more and the fabric parts, and Jesus, she’s not wearing a bra. I catch a glimpse of perfect curves and a rosy nipple. I groan.

Bending my head to kiss her shoulder, I sweep the little strap of the dress aside and the top parts even more and there it is, more heaven, like a ripe peach, soft and round. I kiss my way down the upper slope of her breast, cupping it from the bottom, and then my mouth finds her nipple. I tug it between my lips and she gasps, her hands tunneling into my hair. “Aw, fuck,” I mutter. “So sweet.”

I latch on tighter and suck, and she makes more sweet noises, her hips lifting off the bed. Her nipple stiffens against my tongue.

I could play here all day, sucking and nibbling and licking, and I can tell it’s making her hot, but my dick is leaking and not going to last long.

I lift my head and stare hard at her, panting.

“What?” Her lust-hazed eyes gaze back at me.

“You have condoms?” I rasp out.

Please, please, God, please have condoms. I haven’t used condoms in years.

“Yes.”

“Thank you, Jesus.”