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 him. 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 self-conscious 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.

He smiled down at her, understanding softening his expression. “We’re going to take a page from your playbook. It’s your turn to let the things unfold.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, but his gaze never wavered. “I promise you can be on top next time.”

She held out for a handful of heartbeats, then whispered, “Okay, but I’ve got next.”

Danny wandered his way down her body, perversely avoiding her breasts but sending delicious ripples of sensation through her as he staked claim on each newly uncharted erogenous area he uncovered. Who knew her navel was so ticklish? She would have bet on her ribs, but no. She only moaned and writhed when he outlined them with the tip of his tongue. God, she loved the bit of suction he used when he covered her stomach with hot, wet kisses. By the time he nuzzled the undersides of her breasts, she lay beneath him as tight as an overtaxed hamstring but as loose as a shooter with a hot hand.

Her fingers slid through his hair, toying with the waves as he tormented her. He had a scar at his hairline. She wanted to ask him about it, but he chose that exact moment to close his mouth over her nipple. She arched her back, bowing into the pain-tinged pleasure as his teeth rasped the pebbled flesh. She collapsed, panting, her eyes locked on the ceiling when he pressed her back down with the flat of his tongue. His hands were everywhere—grasping her hips, stroking her leg, cupping her breasts as if he’d found the holy grail instead of a couple of wannabe B-cups.

“Christ, Kate.”

He ground the words out as he released her other nipple, having subjected it to the same delicious torment as its twin. His hips jerked, his cock massaging a streak of hot, sticky pre-come into her thigh.

“I have to taste you.”

With that, he abandoned all pretense of smooth moves and steady seduction. Cool air teased her wet nipple into a painful point. She pressed her palm to her breast to either soothe or smother it, her eyes fixed on the man slithering down her body. Broad shoulders spread her thighs wide. He looked up. The stark longing in his eyes made her pulse race.

“Yes?” he asked, his voice rough as sandpaper.

“God yes,” she answered in a rush.

He slid one blunt fingertip through her wet folds, then plunged into her.

“Oh!”

Her hips rose in a valiant bid to meet each glorious stroke. Then his hot mouth closed over her clit, and all hell broke loose. She moaned. Oh God, she moaned loud enough to make him chuckle against her hypersensitive pussy, sending another paroxysm of pleasure pulsing through her. She moaned so loud the neighbors probably heard her. He circled the demanding bundle with a laziness that boasted his intention to do nothing more all night long if he wanted. Thankfully, he had more tricks up his nonexistent sleeve.

He drew her clit into his mouth, alternately sucking and teasing the tender flesh with his tongue while he started to fuck her with that singularly inadequate finger. Kate gripped his hair, tugging at the soft strands, then digging her nails into his scalp. She circled her hips, shamelessly fucking him back, desperate to grab the release hovering just out of her grasp. Then the bastard withdrew his hand.

“Please. No.”

He ignored her broken protests. She almost wept when he raised his head, a wicked grin stretching his wide, wet mouth. “Oh, I’m not quitting, Coach.”

Danny lowered his head again, opened his mouth wide, and closed it over her. His damp fingertips teased the crevice of her ass. She planted her feet and pressed up, offering herself to him without apology. In this moment, the tables had turned. She was open, vulnerable to him in every way, just as he’d been to her in the shower room, and she gave herself over to it. He thrust his tongue into her once, twice, then pulled back to apply the most mind-bending suction she’d ever experienced.

She came hard and fast, in waves of sensation almost too intense to be called pleasurable. They rocked through her, one riding the heels of the other, relentless and irrepressible. Not that she wanted to hold them back. She didn’t want them to stop. Not now. Not ever.

Certainly not when Danny pushed back to rest on his heels, a self-satisfied smile crinkling his eyes and cutting the most enticing grooves around his mouth. He waggled his brows a bit, but she was too wrung out to muster more than a weak smile. Chuckling and obviously riding high on his accomplishments, the man of the hour rose onto his knees between her legs. His cock jutted straight out from a thatch of ink-black curls, thick and heavy, the swollen head taut and slick with need.

“Score’s tied.”

She was still trying to make sense of his raspy declaration when he pitched forward, catching himself on his hands so he wouldn’t crush her beneath his weight. His blue eyes shone with victory. The white of his teeth was nearly blinding.

Needing to gain a little ground, she retaliated with a smile of her own, then cocked her head to take him all in. “Tied?”

“We’re both up one.” He gave his hips a meaningful twitch and looked deep into her eyes. “Looks like we’re heading into overtime. You ready, Coach?”

The challenging light in his eyes was all the spark she needed. Reaching up, she grabbed a fistful of silver-shot dark hair and pulled him down. They kissed deeply, lingering as they shared the taste of the pleasure he’d given her. When they broke apart at last, they were both breathless.

Opening her eyes, Kate waited until he swam into focus. She pressed a fingertip to his damp upper lip, tracing the bow of it as if she were pondering his question very thoroughly, even though she’d known her answer the minute he asked.

“Danny?” She spoke his name in a whisper so soft and sultry he tensed like a pointer on the hunt. Then she smiled, letting it unfurl slowly. “I was born ready.”

* * *

Good Lord, she was hot. He was glad she couldn’t see his eyes roll back in his head when he reached for the nightstand drawer. He had to jiggle it to get it to open. An action that resulted in an immediate reaction from Kate and even more eye rolling on his part, but the drawer slid open with a heavy thunk. Danny groped in the depths, expecting to find a box of condoms, perhaps a pad of paper and a pen, reading glasses or a book—the sorts of things he might find in his own. He didn’t expect to wrap his fingers around a disconcertingly thick hunk of silicone.

Rearing back, he came up on his knees with an eight-inch rubber dick in a shade of purple he was pretty sure would be indicative of heart failure. “What the—” He goggled at the dildo, then shifted his gaze to the woman pinned beneath him. “Whoa.”

A blush burned bright in her cheeks, but she managed a shrug that looked almost nonchalant. “It was a gift.”

Curling his lip in distaste, he leaned forward to put the vibrator back where he found it. “The gift that keeps giving, huh?” He located the condom box with his next grope and pulled back again. A smirk twisted his lips as he tore into the cardboard. “Let me guess, his name is Bob?”

She flinched as if he’d revealed her deepest, darkest secret. “You know about BOBs?”

Danny snickered as he extracted a foil-wrapped condom. “I’ve heard the term.” It was hard to look cool and smug when fumbling with a rubber, but he did the best he could. “Not very original.”

“Mine isn’t Bob,” she retorted.

“No?” He secured the roll of latex at the base of his dick, then trailed his hand up the inside of her thigh, hoping to get the conversation—and the action—back on track. “Good.”

A shiver passed through her when he settled between her legs again. He closed his eyes, relishing the sensation of being on the cusp.

“It’s LeBron.”

His eyes popped open. “Seriously?”

“No, just joking.”

He shook his head but growled his approval when she drew her leg up high.

“It’s Michael,” she whispered as she wrapped those thoroughbred legs around his hips.

An involuntary moan escaped him when he pressed into her moist heat. His brain stalled. “Michael?”

“Jordan.” She ran a languid hand down the length of his spine. “Why settle for anything less than the best?”

He blinked, trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was discussing a dildo with her when his real, live, pulsing dick was poised at the edge of glory. But her eyes glowed bright with pleasure and anticipation, the golden lights in them as irresistible as the siren song of her teasing. “Why not Kobe or Kareem?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Kobe has had enough trouble with women, and Kareem just sounds a little too dirty.”

She tipped her hips up, and he began the slow slide into her. Dipping his head to whisper directly into her ear, he asked, “Magic?”

Her husky chuckle rippled through him. “This feels like magic, but I like Mike.” Once he was fully seated in her, she raked her nails lightly up his back. “I like to fly high. Maybe you can help me get some air again?”

He choked on a gasping laugh but began to move inside her. “There’s nothing I’d like more.”

She slid a hand between their bodies. He felt her knuckles graze his abs and heard her gasp when she touched her clit. He drove into her—sure, steady, and driven completely insane by the fact that she was taking her own pleasure in hand. “Christ, Kate, I feel like the top of my head’s going to blow off.”

“God, I hope not. I’ve been thinking about this all damn day.” She arched her neck and bowed her body into his. “I’d hate to think we’d be a one and done.”

“Oh, hell no.”

Determination reinforced, he pulled her hand out from between them and pinned it to the pillow beside her head. Grasping her ass, he leveraged onto his knees just enough to drive down into her, dragging the shaft of his cock over her swollen clit with each stroke. The tiny, maddening moans and whimpers were back within a matter of seconds. Her muscles cinched him tight, holding him deep and snug. He slammed into her, losing his grip as she tightened around him.

The first spasm rolled through her, and he shot off like a rocket, pumping into her wild and free, emptying himself inside her.

He might have shouted her name. The bedroom walls reverberated with release. But whether it was him or her, he couldn’t recall. He collapsed onto her, trusting her to hold his weight as he buried his face in her hair. She gentled him with her hands, feathery strokes interspersed with firm caresses. She unknotted her legs and ran the arch of her foot the length of his.

“We fit.”

A long moment passed. He didn’t realize he’d spoken the words aloud until she answered.

“Yes, we do.”

“It’s nice.”

She laughed softly. “Yeah, it is.”

Slowly, reality came seeping back into his consciousness. Danny roused himself enough to peel his weight off her chest. He peered down at her, unable to repress his smile when their eyes met. “Know what else would be nice?”

Her stomach rumbled, and it vibrated through him, pressed as close together as they were. Kate laughed, and making Kate laugh was suddenly number two on his list of favorite things to do to her.

“Pizza?” she asked, eyes sparkling.