Playing Dirty (A Bad Boy Sports Romance) (5 page)

Chapter Five

Jay

As Kate leaned into me and kissed me fiercely with her hot little mouth, I let out an involuntary groan. My cock twitched between my legs and I shuddered, pulling her as close to me as I could without crushing her. As I slid my hands down her smooth back and grabbed her pert ass, lust tore through my body at the thought that I was finally running my fingertips over her excellent figure; that same body I’d pictured myself touching so many times whenever I saw her on TV. I just knew that she’d be a wildcat in the sack, the kind of girl who wouldn’t stop until we were both sore, satisfied, and slick with sweat.

A lady in the street and a freak in the sheets, as they say.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” I murmured into her soft, fragrant neck. “I can’t wait to fuck you.”

She tensed up, and before I knew what she was doing, she’d suddenly pulled away. She looked up at me, her eyes wide, and I thought she was going to say something, but instead she bolted out of my arms and down the hallway.

What the fuck was going on? She’d been totally into it just a second ago; hell, she’d been the one to kiss me, more than once.

I followed her outside of the club and onto the street, and when she realized I was chasing after her, she turned around. Her beautiful face was flushed, her green eyes were sparkling and alive. Her dark hair was mussed and wild, and more than anything, I wanted to reach out and grab her again. I could still taste the sweetness of her lips on mine, and my balls were aching with the urge to take her right then and there.

“Kate, what’s wrong?” I asked, taking her gently by the shoulder.

She looked up at me with anxiety clear on her face. “I don’t know,” she mumbled, flushing as I stared deeply into her eyes. “I wanted to be someone else for a change, and I really thought I could, but I guess I’m not good at doing that after all.”

She looked at the ground, and I could tell she was out of her element. Some of the wind went out of my sails; I still wanted to fuck her more than anything, but I could tell it wasn’t going to happen.

At least not right now.

“Must be nice to try on personalities,” I said with a gentle grin. “I’m always stuck being Jay.”

Kate giggled and blushed again. The red on her cheeks and neck was absolutely delicious-looking, and my cock twitched when I imagined what she’d look like topless and flushing, with the pink spreading down her chest and over her tits.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a soft voice. She looked thoroughly humiliated. “That’s never happened before. I should go.”

I shook my head. Normally, I would have agreed with her. Hell, in most cases, I wouldn’t have even chased a girl outside. My general philosophy on women was ‘live and let live.’ If one left, I knew another would take her place in no time flat. But there was something different about Kate, something that was drawing me in. It wasn’t just that she was beautiful; she had a serene spark to her. She was quietly intelligent and funny, but I could tell she was a kind person too.

“You know what?” I said. “It’s fine, and I’m hungry anyway. Let’s go get something to eat. I know a good place just a few minutes away. You like Chinese?”

Kate nodded. “I love it,” she said. “That’s my favorite cheat food. I’ll just text my sister and let her know I’ll be back soon.”

I chuckled as she tapped away at her phone. She was the last person who needed to be dieting—her voluptuous curves were perfect and exactly what every red-blooded man wanted—but I wondered how strict her network was with her appearance. She skipped alongside me to keep up as I led her towards the food place, and I almost laughed out loud when I saw how she was trotting to match my pace. I slowed down and she let out a grateful sigh.

When we got to the food stall nearby, Kate gave me a questioning look. “You eat at places like this? You’re not mobbed by fans?”

I laughed. “No,” I replied. “No one looks for me in digs like this. They’re always searching the posh steakhouses and pubs.”

Kate nodded and stared at the menu. “Sometimes dives have the best food. But I don’t know what to get,” she said. “Maybe just order whatever’s good, and I’ll share?”

“Sure.”

With Kate in tow, I ordered us a lavish spread. After paying, we took our food over to a side street and sat down at a table belonging to a shuttered café. It wasn’t cold out, but Kate shivered as a breeze blew past us.

I raised an eyebrow. “Cold?”

Kate laughed. “No,” she said softly. She gazed at me with her green eyes and I felt a shiver of lust run down my spine. “Just enjoying myself. This isn’t exactly what I’m used to.”

I leaned back and looked at her. I’d always thought she was a fox, but in person, Kate was even lovelier than she was on the TV. When she was doing her show, she radiated a kind of perfect warmth, but in person, she seemed all too wonderfully real. She was still poised and charming, but she wasn’t too uptight. I liked that.

“I like you like this,” I mused. “You seem so much more real than you do on the telly.”

Kate blushed. She reached forward and took a prawn cracker from one of the baskets in front of us, popping it in her mouth and grinning at me.

“I like to have fun like anyone else,” she said softly. “I just don’t really do things like this in New York all that often. I mean, I would. I just…well, I don’t really have time.”

“Being a busy famous woman and all that?” I winked at her, and to my intense pleasure, the pink blush on her cheeks deepened.

“Not really,” she said. “I mean, yeah. I don’t really see my friends very often. They’re busy, too. Everyone in New York…” She held her hands up in the air and waved her fingers around, and I laughed.

“I’m a sucker for beautiful women doing silly things with their hands,” I said.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Well, it’s true. I mean, everyone goes crazy. It’s like a contest—who can be the busiest and the most tired from working too hard. Do you have friends like that?”

I nodded. “My best mate, Connor,” I said. “We grew up together, and he works construction. He’s busy, but he makes time to chat with me from time to time. He usually calls me before a game to wish me luck.”

I didn’t tell her about how worrisome he’d sounded the last time we talked. Besides, I was probably just imagining things. The stress of worrying about a game combined with seeing my ex-girlfriend bitching about me on the TV probably hadn’t done wonders for my self-assurance.

Kate smiled. “That’s sweet,” she said. “The only person I’m really that close to is Lizzy. And here I am. She invited me over so I could have a break from real life.”

“Lizzy’s your sister, right?”

“Yep.”

I dug around in one of the baskets and pulled out an interlocking clump of fried prawns. “These are the tops,” I told Kate. “They’re my favorite snack here. You want one?”

I held out some of the steaming food to her.

“Sure.” She smiled and reached for a tiny fried prawn that was left in the basket. “I don’t eat a lot of fried stuff,” she said as she popped it into her mouth. “The showrunners are really strict with my diet.”

She chewed and closed her eyes, throwing her head back and moaning softly. “But oh my god, that’s so good! No wonder you love coming here!”

I grinned. “One of my favorite spots,” I told her. “And besides, don’t you love the atmosphere?”

I was being sarcastic, but as Kate looked around, I could tell that she really loved the dark little alley with the tiny lights strung in the tree branches above us. The night was a little chilly and very dark—the occasional breeze smelled fresh, not like rubbish.

“I do,” Kate admitted in a tone more solemn than appropriate. “I mean, it’s just nice to be outside. Sometimes I have similar problems to what I imagine you do, you know. Being recognized.”

“Yeah, I’m not surprised. Your show really is great.”

“Thanks. I really hate complaining about it because almost no one else understands and they just think I’m bragging. But you get it, don’t you?” She looked up at me and I felt another urgent pulse of lust throb in my body. “I mean, you understand.”

I nodded. “Definitely,” I told her with a grin. “I can’t even go out with the blokes anymore without being mobbed. You girls are mad, always wanting me to sign your tits!”

Kate laughed out loud and clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my god,” she said. “You’re kidding, right? Women actually want you to sign their breasts?”

“You’re barking mad, the lot of you,” I told her with a grin. “Sometimes I feel like I’m a member of some bloody band. I can’t even go for a walk without being spotted.”

Kate laughed and looked at me with her green eyes twinkling. “It can be just as bad in New York,” she said. “I get people glaring at me when someone else recognizes me and says hello. Like they have the nerve to be jealous when I don’t have privacy or anonymity half the time.”

“That sucks.”

“I really don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I love meeting fans, and I know I’m lucky; I’ve been given amazing opportunities. I never even wanted to be on TV, honestly, but now that I’m actually doing it, it’s become my dream career, and I really can’t imagine
not
doing it.”

I shook my head. “You don’t sound ungrateful,” I said. “I understand. Sometimes you just need a break from all the attention. But you’re right; this isn’t the kind of rubbish I can complain about when I’m talking to Connor. It’s like he lives in a different world.”

Kate smiled, and she took another handful of prawn crackers and nibbled at one of them delicately. “Does he live around here?”

I nodded. “He lives in Manchester, but on the other side of town,” I said. “Moved from Belfast to be here around the same time I got picked up by Manchester United.”

“Did you grow up here?”

I shook my head. “Not really,” I said. “Well, sort of. I lived in Belfast with my parents until I was almost a teenager. Then I moved here to live with my uncle. He keeps a shop around that corner,” I said as I pointed down the appropriate street.

“Oh, okay,” she replied with a nod. “So did you play soccer as a kid? Er, football, I mean.”

“I didn’t get into it until I moved, actually,” I said. “If you can believe it, not many kids in Belfast are out kicking a ball around.”

Kate nodded. “I‘ve heard it can be kind of a rough city. At least I heard it was a few years ago, anyway,” she said. “So why did you move out here with your uncle? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Something bad happened,” I said, not wanting to tell her about my parents dying in a car bombing. “I moved here when I was about twelve.”

Kate nodded. I could tell she was curious but that she wasn’t going to press the issue. “I’ve never been to Manchester before,” she said. “But I really like it. I know why my sister is so happy here. I’m going to have to drag her home once her semester is over.” She cracked a grin at me. “And she loves football, by the way. She took me to the game as soon as I flew in. We barely even had time to change.”

I chuckled. “It’s always nice to meet a fan,” I said, winking at Kate. She blushed again. “I know it probably wasn’t your first choice of entertainment, though.”

She looked awkward for a second. “I enjoyed myself,” she said softly. “I mean, yeah, honestly I wasn’t sure that I would. But I really enjoyed the game. The energy was pretty infectious.”

“Yeah, it’s like that. So why don’t you have a boyfriend?” I raised my eyebrow at her. “You’re bloody gorgeous, I bet you’re beating blokes off with a stick.”

She laughed and blushed again. “I’m not beating them off with a stick.”

“Liar.”

“I guess I just don’t really have time to date,” she continued, in a brisk, professional way. “I couldn’t prioritize a relationship over the show right now, and I think men seem to know that.” She paused for a second and I wasn’t sure whether or not she was going to continue. But then she said: “And I know this sounds weird, but I think sometimes men are put off because I’m on TV. It’s like they feel they have to overcompensate.”

“Like they’re threatened?” I asked.

“Not exactly,” she said. “It’s more of a status thing. Like they don’t like being with a woman who can pay for everything if she chooses to. I think it makes them feel a little emasculated, as 1950’s as that sounds.”

She licked her lower lip and I had the sudden urge to grab her and press her frame to my body.
I’ll show you a man who’s not put off by you
, I thought wickedly.
Just come a little closer and you’ll see, I’m not like the rest of those blokes
.

“I understand,” I said smoothly. Kate seemed to relax a little bit.

“You promise you don’t think I’m a brat?” She looked up at me and I stared at her lips, desperately wanting them against mine. “I mean, because I’m complaining when I’ve been so fortunate? I really do sound like a brat, I know it.”

I laughed. “Trust me,” I said, holding up my hands. “I’ve had to hide from girls in alleys before. I understand. It’s distracting, even if I love it most of the time.”

“Do you?”

The question caught me off-guard. “What?”

“Do you, I mean do you really love it?” Kate raised an eyebrow as she took another bite of fried prawns. “You don’t think it’s too stressful? You don’t want a normal life?”