Game On(24)

“And what are your intentions, Mr. Ryder?” I asked him, suddenly intoxicated by his proximity.

“You see, Ms. Hall,” he said. “That’s the problem. With you I just can’t quite figure out what I want.”

“Oh?” My throat was dry and the word came out low and husky.

Heat sparked in his eyes. “Well, I suppose that’s not entirely true. I know exactly what I want. I just don’t know if what I want is the best thing in this situation.”

“Probably not,” I said, but didn’t move away from him.

“Probably not,” he agreed. “But sometimes you have to forget what’s best and do what’s right.”

“And is this right?” I asked.

“Only one way to find out,” he said with that smile of his. “Don’t you think?”

I felt the wall against my back. Somehow, while we were talking, he had walked me back towards the side of the fireplace at the end of the room we had been standing in. I was trapped, a hard wall behind me, a hard body in front of me. And I was making no complaints. His hand reached up and pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen in front of my eyes. I shivered as his finger brushed my cheek. He leaned forward, his eyes on my lips, and I leaned forward, my own eyes closing. His mouth met mine, hot and eager and firm. I tilted my head back as the kiss deepened, our tongues rubbing together like two sticks about to start a fire. Nathan’s hands slid from my shoulders to just skim my breasts, sending a shiver through me, and then he gripped my hips assertively, pulling me tight against his muscular torso. FUCK YEAH. I melted into him, lacing my hands behind his neck, pulling him even closer towards me. He groaned into my mouth, and just as I could feel the hint of a hard rather large bulge against my thigh, a familiar tune burst out of the enormous speakers spread across the room.

“My heart will go on and oooooooooooooon!”

The spell was broken.

I opened my eyes to find Nathan glaring at the other side of the room where Chris was exchanging high fives with some of the other baseball players and Mandy was shaking her head, her arms crossed as Celine Dion crooned the famous song.

Sorry, she mouthed at me, but I could only shrug.

“I’m going to f*cking kill them,” Nathan said, but he didn’t look angry, just a little annoyed and kind of embarrassed. Half the room was clapping and whooping. There was a slight pinkish tint to his cheeks. It made him look even more wholesome and handsome. He looked back at me and we shared a sheepish smile. We both knew that we were playing a very dangerous game.

“I should probably go,” I said, sliding out from between him and the wall.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I should probably go as well.”

“But I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked. “Maybe do our interview then?”

“Yeah,” he said, but he didn’t even look back as he headed across the room, giving Chris and his teammates a shove as he pushed past them. I could only hope this embarrassment wouldn’t derail our interview anymore. Unfortunately, it had done a great deal to derail any sense of restraint I previously had. I needed to get out of there before I followed him and did something that wasn’t the best idea, but seemed to be the right one at that exact moment.

So I said goodnight to Mandy and to Chris, went back to my hotel room and took a long, cold shower.





Chapter Ten


When I got to the field the next morning, the stands were full, but there was no sign of Mandy. I hoped that this was an indication that last night had gone well, not the other way around. Some of the girls in the stand gave me a wave and I waved back. I was making friends. Then one of them flipped me the bird. OK, maybe not. Perhaps she had been at the party last night and saw me walk away from the hottest guy in baseball. I didn’t mind. Internally, I was doing the same thing to myself.

It wasn’t hot yet, but I could tell the day was going to be another scorcher. This time I had been the one to come prepared, with two large bottles of cold water and a baseball hat I had bought at the campus store. Figured it couldn’t hurt my chances with the star player if I wore his colors across my brow. Besides, I looked pretty cute in a baseball cap.

When I got to my seat, however, there was a box sitting there, with a note on top.

Just in case I need your services at the next party. –Nathan.

I opened it to find several bottles of Coffee-Mate Café Mocha and a thermos of iced coffee. My preferred form of payment, or so I had told Nathan the first night in the bar. This was really f*cking nice.

I had been there about fifteen minutes, watching a few players emerge from the locker room and begin to warm up, before Mandy arrived. She wore the sweet, rumpled look of someone who had overslept, along with the remnants of make-up and a big smile that indicated a really good night. By the time she reached me, she was already blushing furiously.

“Morning,” I said, handing her a bottle of water. I could barely hide my own smile. Clearly the night had gone quite well.

“Morning,” she said, her pale skin flushing even more. She kept her eyes down and I realized why when Chris rushed across the field, having obviously waited a few minutes before heading towards the locker room. As he passed the guys warming up, he was greeted with a ruckus of hoots and hollers.

“My man!” some of the guys shouted, while a few slapped him on the back. But Chris just waved them off, rushing to get dressed, but not before turning back and flashing Mandy a huge smile.