I shoved a hand through my damp hair, a bag of my favorite noodle takeout in hand. It was late, the game had ended less than an hour ago, and all I could think about doing was seeing her, talking about the game with her, just talking to her.

“Hello?” The door swung open, and her pretty lips dropped into an O.

“Evenin’.”

“Cash, what are you—”

“I brought food.” I lifted the bag in my hand. “From the noodle shop next to my house.”

A stubborn grin lifted her features, and I thought right then and there I was done for. I was cracking her tough shell and that thought alone nearly killed me in the best way.

“I like noodles.” She opened the door wider. “You’re spoiling me. When someone else turns your head and you finally give up on me, I’m going to miss the gestures.”

“Well, obviously you don’t know me well enough yet.” I stepped into her living room, my eyes holding hers. “Because I don’t give up.”

Her eyes held mine for a long beat before she slowly nodded. “I’m learning that.”

She snagged the bag from my hands and turned, and for the first time my eyes cast down her curvy body. She wore the cutest goddamn pair of snowflake pajamas I’d ever seen, made all the more endearing by the fact that it wasn’t even winter. The thin straps of her tank top begged for my teeth and made me want to peel the clothing off her body one inch at a time and track my tongue up and down all her luscious curves.

She reached the kitchen and turned, pulling plates from the cupboard before opening up the brown bag. She leaned over, pulling forks from a drawer, the deep vee of her cleavage making my cock throb painfully behind the zipper of my jeans. I’d never so blatantly checked out a woman before—I had respect for the female population—but there was something about Delilah that turned me into a raging caveman myself.

I licked my lips, wondering what her nipples would taste like on my tongue, the faint outline of those little tight buds peeking through the cotton and causing my brain to flood with a thousand fantasies, all starring her.

“Did you watch the game?” I took a plate from her hand as she gestured for me to sit on the couch with her. She must have been snuggled up in blankets all night, working from the couch with her laptop. I see a long spreadsheet of numbers filling the screen.

“Of course.” She took a bite of her noodles, then moaned. “These are the best noodles I’ve everrrrr had.” My dick jumped at the soft noise escaping her pretty lips. How I longed to make her moan like that as my tongue roamed her luscious body. What was it about this girl that made me so damn crazy?

Because she’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.

I sighed, averting my eyes to the TV, where she had ESPN playing on low volume, updates from all the MLB games scrolling along the bottom feed.

Christ, she watched the sports channel, too. Could she be anymore perfect?

“You’ve been working all night?”

“Mhmm.” She hummed as she ate.

“You know you could probably take some of that advice you dished out early about pushing yourself too hard.”

“No, it’s totally different for me.” She shook her head and twirled her fork in the pile of noodles.

“Hardly.”

“Definitely.” She narrowed her eyes for a moment, but I saw the amused grin tipping her lips. “How did you find out where I live, anyway?”

I shrugged. “A determined man has his ways.”

“So you’re a stalker?”

“Only if you like being stalked, baby. I can be anything you want me to be.”

“You’re impossible.” She turned up the volume on the TV, attempting to cut off this conversation.

I turned it right back down on her. “Coach gave me your phone number, I did a reverse lookup and got lucky. Did you know you’re listed for any stranger to see online?”

“Aren’t we all?”

“Yeah, but that’s dangerous for a single woman. Maybe you should get a dog or something.”

“Seems like I’ve got my own right now.”

I laughed at her insinuation that I was a dog. That was so far from the truth. If only she knew.

“So what brings you by, other than the noodles? Thank you, by the way.”

“I just wanted to see if you were okay. After earlier…I just wanted to say…well.” I shoved a hand through my hair. “I’m not sure what I wanted to say except that I missed you at the game. You know, I had a hard time concentrating when I didn’t see you. So I wanted to see you and make sure you were okay. And feed you. I’m afraid you don’t eat.”

The chuckle that echoed around the space was like a siren song to my battered heart. “I eat plenty, but the noodles are delicious. If it weren’t for them, I would have kicked you out already by now.”

“I believe it. You’re a tiger, Delilah.”

She paused, her eyes glazing with some inexplicable emotion before she turned back to the TV, taking another bite from her plate.

“What was that? What did I say?”

“I just…” She pursed her lips as she thought. “I don’t talk about myself much, so this is hard for me, but you’ve got to understand something, Cash. You’re sweet, you really are—”

“And handsome.”

She giggled. “Yeah, a little. But this still isn’t going to happen between us. And I have a feeling the only reason you want me is because I’m the only girl who doesn’t fall all over you when you walk into a room.”

“That’s not true for a second.” I set my plate down and inched across the couch to her. “Your smile drives me insane, the way your lips curve up just right here…” I dusted my thumb across the corner of her mouth. “It undoes me. The way your eyes light up when you’re passionate about something, which is pretty much everything—”

“Cash?” My name whispers past her delicate lips.

“Yeah, baby.”

“You have to stop touching me.”

I dropped my hand instantly, eyes narrowing. Her gaze caught mine before she shrank away. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

“Tell me then.”

“No, no, let’s just keep this professional.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Why, Cash? I’m just a girl. There’s nothing special about me. I’m nerdy and quiet and way too cerebral. I live alone and I like it. Relationships just aren’t for me.”

I shook my head, listening to her explain but not believing a damn word of it. “You should see yourself the way I see you.”

Her eyes widened as her chest rose and fell with her breaths. “And how’s that?”

“Intoxicating. Dizzying. Completely fucking incredible in every way.”

“You’re crazy and delusional.”

I shook my head, a smile pulling at my lips as I watched her in the dim light of the living room. “Or maybe I’m drunk on you.”

She set her plate down, glancing at the clock on the screen before swallowing and turning back to me. “Cash…you don’t understand what I’ve been through. I’ve been around ball players my entire life. I remember my dad coming home from practice reeking of booze and women, and starting fights with my mom. It was horrible. One night I hid in my closet, all the stuffed animals I owned piled on top of me. I was convinced they’d keep me safe… The things my parents said to each other, no person should ever say to anyone they love. I’m not even sure they loved each other. It looked a whole lot more like hate to me. My mother would just sit there on the floor afterwards, crying or medicating herself to sleep, and my father would storm out, going out to look for more baseball groupies who would do whatever he said and never talk back or question him.” The thought of her as a little girl, all alone and scared, ripped my heart out. No wonder she had such an aversion to ball players, it made perfect sense.

“You didn’t deserve that, Delilah.” I caught her hand in mine, heart aching for the little girl she’d been and for all the pain she still carried on her shoulders. I’d do anything to fix it for her. She deserved a life filled with love and happiness, and I wanted to be the man to give it to her. I loved baseball, but at some point that world would fade away. Delilah was forever. What we could have together would last an eternity. She was just too stubborn to see it, but I’d crack her shell. I already had.

“The baseball life isn’t for me, Cash. I’ll never be a woman who can be a ball player’s wife—all the women, the partying, the late nights. I like boring, predictable, and stable. Those are the things that matter to me. So what if you give me a few butterflies—”

“I give you butterflies?” I teased.

“You give me a case of wild butterflies. So many butterflies I think I might be sick, so you see, you really make me sick to my stomach, which isn’t a good thing,” she finished, a satisfied smile on her gorgeous face.

“You know what I call that?” I leaned a little closer, soaking up her sexy scent as I whispered at her neck. “Chemistry. Anticipation. Desire.”

Delilah’s pulse quickened at her neck, her body shifting as ragged little breaths parted her pouty little lips. “I’m a stubborn girl, Cash.”

“I guarantee I’m a more determined man.”

I could wait Delilah out. I was working the long game.