Playing with Fire - A Sports Romance (5 page)

Those words had me racing to Marco’s private jet, and then to the bar as soon as I got into town last night. I asked Mitch to pour me two shots of Patron, which I downed without a breath. I needed my senses to be dulled. I needed to feel a warm body against mine. But even dancing with Mitch couldn't get that conversation off my mind.

Four weeks.

Four weeks, and this distraction that was supposed to last but a few hours is still haunting me. Ramon thinks Corey is in love, and has been for four weeks. I don't want to believe it. I can't. And yet, something changed in me four weeks ago, too. Not love. There’s no way. I don't allow myself to get close enough to anyone for that. But something, definitely, has changed.

“Frankie? Did you hear me?”

I turn my attention back to my cousin and grimace. “I'm sorry, what?”

“I said, Vinny is planning on meeting us at the hotel bar tonight.”

“Oh, great,” I say.

Vivian frowns at me and puts aside her magazine again. “I don't understand why you insist on staying at that hotel. You know your room is available to you any time you want to come home.”

I wave her off and toss my own magazine aside. “You sound just like him. I'm not staying at Marco’s. It’s bad enough I work for him. I'm not living with him, too.”

She chuckles at me. “You don't always have to be so strong, Frankie. It’s okay to depend on someone else every once in a while, to let someone in.”

I don't respond to my cousin. It’s nothing new, this thing she’s telling me. Ever since my grandmother passed away, I’ve forced myself to be strong, to not rely on others. I accepted too much from Marco when I was young. I won't allow myself that vulnerability again. I won't allow myself an attachment to anything other than myself. It only ends in heartache, for me as much as everyone else.

C
orey

“
I
swear to God
, Corey, your neighbor is psycho.” My little sister, Jen, is a whirlwind of activity this morning, just like she always is. As she sets a paper cup from the coffee shop down the street on the end table near my head, I almost forgive her. And I almost forgive myself for telling her she could stay at my apartment while she’s interviewing for jobs in the city. It wouldn’t be so bad, except I offered to fly home for my one day off this month to be with her.

“It’s too early for this, Jen.” I groan and roll over on the couch, putting my bare feet on the floor before grabbing the coffee. She glares down at me as I take a sip.

“Then why don't you tell that to Little Miss Evil Eyes?”

I scowl, but not at my sister. After my night with Madison and Red, Madison has come to me nearly every day. At first I was game, but it’s been wearing on me. I’ve never once let her in my hotel room or my apartment. I told her why. This is my sanctuary, a space I don't allow any women to enter. She was accepting of my position. That is, until she saw Jen walk out of my apartment one morning.

“I don't think she believes you're my sister,” I say.

“Maybe you should let her in so she can inspect our sleeping arrangements,” Jen complains, waving a hand in the direction of the dark leather couch, where I slept last night.

“No!” I say. “No one comes in here. It’s—”

“Yes, your sanctuary, I know.” Jen starts across my sparsely furnished apartment towards my bedroom, but stops in the doorway. She glances over her shoulder at me. “You need to talk to her, Corey. I'm seriously worried about her. What happens when you’re in Arizona and I'm here alone?”

Dammit. Jen knows exactly what to say, exactly where my weakness lies. I’d do anything for my sister. The thought of anyone harming Jen makes me ill.

“Fine. I'll go talk to her. But I'm taking a shower first.”

Unlike my apartment, Madison's is filled with expensive furnishings and the finest decorations money can buy. Everything is high end, just like their owner. Every time I step through her door, I'm filled with the sense I don't belong. It takes money to live in this building, money I have. But I'm not like Madison. I don't feel the need to flaunt my wealth at every turn. I keep the bare minimum in my home because I'm very rarely here.

After a hot shower to melt away the aches from sleeping on my couch, I leave Jen to finish getting ready and step out into the hall. I'm dreading this. While Madison has always been fun, having her right down the hall from me, and at the same hotel down in Arizona, isn't as great as I thought it would be. I may not bring women back to my place, but it’s difficult to escape her when she’s right there. All the time.

There is no wait after I knock on the door before it’s opened. Madison wastes no time. She grabs me by the shirt and yanks me inside her apartment. Before I can react, her lips are smashed against mine and she’s trying to undo my pants.

“I knew you’d come back for me, baby,” she says between heated kisses. It’s all I can do to fend her off.

“Madison, stop!” I grab her hands and push her back, trying to catch my breath.

“It’s okay, baby,” she says, trying to get her hands free.

“No, it’s not okay.” She jerks her head back as if I’ve slapped her. “I didn't come here for this.”

Madison tears her hands out of mine and stares me down with wild eyes. “Is this because of her? That… that—”

“That
woman
?” I ask, matching the venom in her voice with mine. “That
woman
is my
sister
. And yes, it’s about her. You need to leave my
sister
alone.”

“Don't lie to me, Corey. She doesn't look a damn thing like you.”

I scowl at my neighbor. She’s right. Jen doesn't look like me. She’s tall and slim, with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. All of Jen’s features are delicate, where mine are strong. She looks like her mother, and I like our father.

“Maybe that’s because she’s my half-sister,” I tell her. “Not that it matters. Stay the fuck away from her.”

Madison’s anger melts away in an instant, and she comes at me again, her hands all over my chest. “Oh, baby, I’m sorry I didn't believe you. But it’s okay. It’s okay. You’re here now. Let me make it up to you.”

I push her off me again. “Enough!” My blood is boiling and I'm about to blow. “I'm not doing this with you, Madison. I'm taking my sister out sightseeing. I expect you to leave her alone, got it?”

Madison steps back, her bottom lip trembling, and nods her head. “Will I see you later? Please tell me I’ll see you later, baby. I need you.”

I look over the hot mess in front of me, noticing for the first time what she’s wearing. A thin, pink silk robe hangs from her shoulders, exposing her cleavage and putting her long legs on full display. There’s a sudden strain in my pants. I need to get out of here before I do something stupid.

“Probably not,” I tell her. I force myself to turn around and take the three steps it takes to leave her apartment. Out in the hall, I lean my head against the wall and take deep breaths, willing my erection to go away. I can't face my sister like this.

A giggle beside me startles me, and I jump.

“You alright there, Tiger?” Jen asks, her eyebrows raised and a goofy grin on her face.

I shake my head and point a finger at my head. “I think you’re right,” I say, twirling my finger in circles, “she is crazy.” I put my arm around my sister’s shoulder and drag her back towards my apartment, passing the elevator.

“Where are we going?” Jen asks.

“You’re going to change,” I tell her. “There’s no way in hell you’re going out looking like that.”

“What’s wrong with this?” Jen looks down at the tiny mint green dress she’s wearing. It covers more skin than Madison’s robe, but barely.

“We’re going sightseeing, not club hopping.”

“Corey!” She pouts as I push her back through my apartment door.

“Get,” I say. “Go find something more appropriate.”

“I thought you were going to take me out on the town tonight.”

“Tonight, yes. And I might consider letting you wear that tiny piece of cloth then, but for now you need to wear something a little more appropriate for
sightseeing
. You don't need to put on a show for every man in this city.”

Jen rolls her eyes at me before stomping off towards my room. “Okay, Dad!”

* * *

“
Y
ou’re spoiled
. You know that, right?”

Jen grins at me and accepts a kiss on her cheek. “Rotten. And all thanks to you.”

I open my apartment door and usher her in, then pick up the remainder of the twenty shopping bags she’s not carrying from the hall floor. “When I told you I’d take you sightseeing, I didn't realize we’d be seeing so much of the inside of stores.”

“Corey,” she says with a hearty laugh, “you act like you weren't completely willing to follow me around while I shopped.”

She’s got me there. A perk of my job is the pay. I make more now than I ever imagined I could when I was younger. Jen and I came from very little, and now that I have so much, it feels right to shower her with things we never had as kids.

What good is money if you can't spend it on what you want? I'd rather spend it on the people that make me happy than myself.

Of course, I do have an ulterior motive: that mint green dress is too small. I can't let my little sister go out in that scrap of cloth. Every man in the city would be vying for her. I'm no prude, and I'm not a hypocrite. I live my life exactly how I want, and I don't expect any less of Jen because she’s my sister. But that doesn't mean I won't try to protect her from the scum that walks this earth.

I drop her bags onto my bed and frown at the green dress she left hanging on the headboard. “I'm going to run out and grab dinner. Why don't you change? And…maybe wear something you got today instead of that thing?”

Jen narrows her eyes at me, but it doesn't last. She’s too excited about her new spoils to stay mad at me now. I laugh as I walk out of the room. I know how to play her, too.

By the time I get back from Luciano’s with a tray of twice-baked lasagna, fresh bread sticks, and two side salads, Jen is dressed and ready. She’s in a pair of dark wash designer jeans, a black tank, and a flowing, oversized blue silk shirt that hangs off her shoulders and pulls out the color of her eyes. The knee-high black leather boots she’s wearing make me want to send her back to my room to change again, but I suppress my urge to treat her like a child. Jen’s a big girl. Sure, she’s only twenty-one, but she’s a college student and capable of making her own decisions.

Jen dishes out two large portions of lasagna while I set out the salads and breadsticks. After we take a seat at the small table off the kitchen and dig into our meals, I ask her about how her interviews are going. Even though we talk on the phone every few days, and even though we spent the day together, I have yet to get the scoop. She prattles on about each of the interviews - the position she’d get if she’s hired, the quirks of the interviewer, and what some of the perks of the jobs would be. She’s beyond excited about all of them and is going to have trouble deciding if she’s forced to choose between more than one. I listen intently, loving that she’s so enthusiastic about her future.

“So, what are the plans for tonight?” I ask as we’re cleaning up the dishes. “Where are you dragging me?”

“My friend, Kelly, suggested this place called Riverside. She said there’s live music on the weekends and some hot bartenders, too.”

I let the quip about the bartenders slide. I’m too jarred by her choice of hangout. My heart starts racing and I nearly drop the plate I’m putting in the dishwasher. “Riverside?” I ask, trying to recover.

“Yeah, it’s a bar attached to the Savory Hotel. Have you heard of it?”

I let out a slow breath and close the door to the dishwasher. “I’m aware of it. Why don’t we go somewhere else?”  Like, anywhere else? Anywhere that’s not where I met Frankie Sarcone?

“No, I’d really like to check it out. Kelly had good things to say about it.”

“And Kelly knows better than your brother, who lives in this city?”

“Kelly grew up in this city, silly. I'm pretty sure she knows better than you. We can go where you want next time. Now, go get ready. I’ll finish cleaning up in here.”

Shit. I recognize the look on her face. Jen’s determined and won't be swayed. It’s the same look our mom gives our dad when she’s made up her mind to do something. I learned long ago not to mess with these women when they look like that.

I go to my room and change. I don't have a choice. I don't let women get to me. But Jen and her mom have a way of getting what they want, no matter what I do. One of these days, they’ll be the death of me.

* * *

“
W
hat's wrong
, Tiger?” Jen’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Huh? Nothing. What you mean you mean, what’s wrong?”

She laughs at me and punches my shoulder. “You handed over your keys to your pride and joy without another thought. It's not like you.”

“I'm okay, it’s nothing.” I watch the valet drive off in my Corvette before I turn to the door of the Savory and frown. “You sure you want to go here? I’m sure there are better places around town. We could go to a club or something.”

“Yes, I’m sure I want to go here. Come on.” Jen tugs on my elbow and I turn my attention back to her. “It will be fun, I promise.”

I take a big breath and follow my sister into Riverside. I’m not sure what I’ll do if Frankie is here tonight. Surely, with her working in the city, she’ll find a place of her own. It doesn't make sense to stay at a hotel like this long-term. The price has got to be prohibitive. And the chances I’d run into her, one of millions of people in this city, are beyond slim. I keep telling myself these things as we walk through the front doors, like a broken record playing in my head.

The bar looks exactly as I remember it. Dark. Sexy. Packed with people. The lights over the dance floor are flashing yellow, red, and blue tonight. The pulse of the music beats like a racing heart. I drag my eyes over the room, searching for anyone I know. I don't see anyone familiar, but then again, there are so many people it’s hard to see.