Fastball (19 page)

But he kept her on the edge, pulling back
once, twice, to keep her from tumbling over. Her skin was so hot it
felt like she was burning up. And still he kept playing with her
clit, licking and sucking it, until she was ready to scream from
ecstasy and frustration. And then he put two fingers back inside
her, pumping slowly as he licked her. The competing sensations made
her shudder as pleasure rolled over her in waves. Tension coiled
deep inside, muscles tightening as she neared the edge of her
climax.

Suddenly, it wasn’t what Maddie wanted. Not
without Jake coming with her.

She clamped a hand in his hair, pulling at
him. He growled, clearly reluctant to stop, but he finally lifted
his head.

“What?” he rasped, looking so hot, so
masterful
, that her insides—and did she ever need a new
word—quivered.

“I need you inside me. Right now,” she
demanded.

He rose slowly to his feet, all six feet four
inches of magnificent male. When he licked his lips, clearly
savoring her taste, Maddie just about fainted.

Reaching into his pocket, Jake extracted
several condoms.
Oh, goodie,
she couldn’t help thinking.

He undressed at a leisurely pace, giving her
a truly impressive eyeful of buff male. When he shed his briefs,
she couldn’t help sighing with anticipated pleasure. Yes, he was a
very
big, very beautiful man, and she couldn’t wait to
experience all that beauty up close and personal.

Impatient and suddenly needing to take
control, Maddie sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed to grab a
foil packet from his hand. She tore it open, but before pulling the
condom out she couldn’t help succumbing to temptation. Leaning
over, she slowly dragged her tongue across the head of his shaft.
Jake groaned and ran his fingers through her hair, cradling her
skull as she licked his erection up and down before taking the
plump head deep into her mouth.

Hot, salty male, and all hers to play with,
and the fact that it was
Jake
made it all the more exciting,
almost too much for her to process.

“Maddie, enough,” he groaned after a few
seconds of her work, carefully pulling her mouth away. “I need to
be in you. Now.”

She looked up and met his gaze. His eyes
glittered with passion but she saw tenderness there as well, a
tenderness matched by the way he gently stroked her hair. She
nodded, too overwhelmed by the moment to speak. She pulled the
condom out of the foil and quickly rolled it down the full length
of his erection. He eased her back onto the bed and loomed over
her, spreading her thighs as he slowly worked his cock into her.
She drew her legs up and arched her back, a little cry escaping her
throat as she felt how big he was, how thickly he filled her. She’d
never felt anything like it and clutched at his rock-hard biceps,
staring wide-eyed into his face as he sank into her.

His features were hard, his mouth pulled into
a thin, tight line. She could sense that he held himself back, not
wanting to hurt her. But as he slowly pressed forward, gently
pushing her right knee up to open her fully, she was surprised to
find how easily she accommodated him. He
fit
her somehow, so
lusciously thick, and now everything inside her was slick, soft and
elastic. As he buried himself deep, she wrapped her legs around his
waist and ran her hands up to his massive shoulders, wanting to be
as close to him as she could get.

Propped up on his arms, he took her head
between his hands, his eyes devouring her as he began to thrust.
She sucked in a breath, knowing that her previous—and, okay, fairly
limited—experiences with men had not prepared her for this…for
Jake. It was more than just his confident lovemaking, as
spectacular as that was. No, there was something else going on, at
least for her. She couldn’t name it, but she knew that the spark
that had flared into life the first time they spoke had led
inevitably to this place.

She surrendered to it with joy.

With each of his disciplined thrusts, Maddie
arched her spine, wanting more. Needing the delicious friction.
Though she felt her climax building, she wasn’t ready for it to be
over. She tried to hold back, to keep the tidal wave of sensation
from sweeping over her. God, she wished it could never end.

But when Jake cupped his hands under her
bottom and dragged her up onto his driving cock, she moaned and dug
her fingernails into his shoulders. He was panting now, pumping
hard, and she knew he was as close to the edge she was.

As her own orgasm took her, she closed her
eyes and cried out as the glorious tremors washed through her
limbs. He followed her, letting out a deep growl as he erupted. As
he spent himself within her in a long, wracking shudder, Maddie let
out a trembling breath, holding onto him as if she’d never let
go.

* * *

When Maddie came awake the next morning, Jake
was—sadly—already out of bed. She indulged in a long, leisurely
stretch, and rolled over to find him sitting in the big arm chair
by the window, a room service table in front of him. He looked up
from the paper and gave her a very satisfied smile.

“Good morning, sex goddess,” he said that in
deep rumble of his. “I thought you were never going to wake
up.”

“What time is it?” Maddie yawned, squinting
against the full daylight streaming in through the window. She must
have been asleep for several hours. Not surprising, since Jake’s
lovemaking had left her both replete and exhausted.

“It’s already about ten. No worries, though.
I don’t have to be at the field until after eleven. What about
you?”

She burrowed back into the fluffy mound of
pillows. “Me? As long as I get there by the first pitch I’ll be
fine. No prep required for us scribes. But I’m a little worried
about you.” She stretched again like a sleepy cat, luxuriating in
the satiny smooth, expensive sheets covering the king sized bed.
“Did we actually get any rest?”

“You did. You were dead to the world by
around five-thirty. I tossed and turned a bit after that.”

She couldn’t help grinning at him. Last
night, it had seemed their lovemaking would never end. She had
wished
it would never end. After that first explosive
coming-together, she had felt a satisfied glow through the length
of her body she’d never experienced before. And everything they’d
subsequently done to each other had felt right in a way she
couldn’t explain. Soul-deep right. When they’d finally finished
hours later and Jake had tucked her into the shelter of his
muscular body, she’d never felt so secure or so happy. They’d
talked until the gray reaches of the early dawn had started to
filter into the room—talked about everything. Their families, their
careers, Jake’s charities, even her mother’s illness. She’d wanted
to learn everything she could about him, and he’d seemed just as
interested in her.

Even better was how easy she’d felt with him.
In her limited dating experience sex had been fun, but it sometimes
left her feeling uncomfortably vulnerable. Nothing like that had
happened last night despite the various and creative ways Jake had
taken her. A few times, Maddie had been reduced to giggles when he
coaxed her into some pretty undignified positions, but his
affection and warmth, his whispered assurances that
he had
her,
had dissolved all her uncertainties.

And this morning, gazing across the bed at
him, taking in his utterly masculine but open and honest features,
it still felt right. No matter the eventual outcome of the
situation, Maddie knew she couldn’t regret the special connection
they’d created between them last night.

In fact, she wished they could start all over
again, but when Jake padded off to the bathroom she let out a sigh
and capitulated to reality. She threw back the sheets and slipped
into the hotel robe that he’d thoughtfully laid out on the end of
the bed. Inspecting the breakfast cart, she was delighted to see a
plate of fresh fruit along with the basket of bagels and muffins
that Jake had almost demolished. She smiled. He was a big man—in
more ways than one—and he’d certainly expended a lot of energy in
pleasing her last night.

As she settled into the armchair he’d just
vacated, she poured herself a cup of coffee and grabbed the
newspaper that had come with the breakfast tray, turning
immediately to the sports section. But as she tried to focus on the
stories and the baseball scores, her mind returned to the
confidences she and Jake had shared throughout the night.

They had talked about so many things, but the
one subject neither of them had broached was
what next
?
Maddie hadn’t wanted to raise it, not wanting to spoil the moment.
She guessed Jake didn’t either. But as she folded the paper and
tossed it on the bed, she faced the fact that it wouldn’t go away.
They were holed up at the Madison, for God’s sake, hiding away from
the team and the press. That said it all. She and Jake wanted to be
together, but how was that going to happen, living in the fish bowl
that came with his celebrity status? She hadn’t wanted to face that
question in the passion of the night before, but it couldn’t be
avoided much longer.

Jake reappeared from the shower after ten
minutes, his wet hair glistening, a fluffy white towel tied around
his waist. He looked so buff and sexy that Maddie had to resist the
urge to strip the towel away for some more fun and games. The way
he looked at her—as well as the tent he was making under the
towel—indicated a similar frame of mind.

She stood up and reached out to him. They
kissed and he held her tight, his hands wandering down her back to
caress her bottom. She luxuriated in the warmth and sensuality of
his embrace for a few more seconds, then broke away. Taking in a
determined breath, she grabbed the bull by the horns.

“Jake, I want you to know that last night was
one of the best nights of my life. That may sound a bit corny, but
I don’t know how else to say it. It felt so wonderful, so natural
to be with you. It was everything I wanted it to be.”

She paused, grimacing as she tried to figure
out the best way to approach the tricky subject. From the concerned
frown on his face, it was clear he was waiting for a
but
to
follow. She moved quickly to reassure him. “I’m not going to tell
you that I don’t want to be with you, or that we can’t see each
other anymore. No worries on that score.”

He nodded and sat down on the bed, looking
puzzled. “Then what are you worried about?”

“I just think we have to talk about this
situation, that’s all,” she said, even though she didn’t have a
clue how to approach it. “About how we could possibly have a
relationship when we can’t let anybody know about it. I’m
completely at a loss as to how we’re going to manage that.”

Jake rose slowly from the bed and approached
her. Pulling her up from the chair, he took her face between his
hands and brushed a soft kiss across her lips. That was nice—very
nice—but it still didn’t answer her question.

“Look, Maddie,” he said in a firm, reassuring
voice. “Anything’s possible if two people really want to be
together. Because they
make
it possible. I know we can’t be
a normal couple—not right now. We’re not going to waltz into the
Hilton arm-in-arm and tell everybody we’re together. We both know
exactly where that would lead. But that doesn’t mean we can’t ever
be with each other. We just have to be careful at this stage, while
we’re figuring things out. Let’s just give ourselves time to do
that, okay?”

She felt a stab of anxiety. Her own desires
and Jake’s lovemaking had kept it at bay last night, but it was now
establishing a familiar and unwelcome beachhead. “It would be so
risky, Jake. I hate worrying like this, but I can’t help it.”

He stroked her hair, trying to soothe her. “I
know, but we can minimize the risk. We’ll be together when we can
safely see each other, and when we can’t, we won’t be. It’s sure as
hell not ideal, but what’s the alternative at this point? Not see
each other at all?” He snorted at the idea. “Sorry, babe. I can’t
do that.” He raised his eyebrows, challenging her not to give into
her insecurities.

She darted her gaze away, unable to look at
him. Hell, she’d love to be as brave as he was, but he was
Jake
Miller
. Even if the worst happened and they were exposed, his
career would survive. Hers? Not so much.

But he didn’t retreat an inch, gently tipping
her chin up so she had to look straight into his eyes. She couldn’t
miss the stubborn determination in their depths. “Maddie, all I
know is that we want to be together. So, we’ll make it work
somehow, no matter what. Like I said, just give it a chance. We can
start out slow, if that makes you feel better.”

“Easy for you to say,” she grumbled. But she
acknowledged defeat, resting her head on his chest. “I guess you’re
right. What else can we do? I’m really going to hate sneaking
around like we’re doing something wrong, but if that’s what it
takes to be with you, then…” And she did hate the idea. It wasn’t
wrong that they wanted to be together, but she’d always held her
professional life to a high ethical standard. It grated on her to
have to sacrifice that.

His arms wrapped around her in a comforting
embrace. “Then what?” he prompted.

She sighed. “Then we’ll just have to get
really good at sneaking around, won’t we?”

Ten days.

With an effort, Maddie pulled out of her
reverie when the waiter delivered her glass of chardonnay. She
still found it hard to believe that only ten days had passed since
she and Jake had first made love that incredible night in Chicago.
It seemed much longer, but so far their caution and discretion had
been working. They had to keep their distance during the day,
suppressing every single hint of the passion that raged between
them. But at night, after the games ended—that was an entirely
different story.