Playmaker

by Jami Davenport

  “If this isn’t as serious as I’d considered, then what happened to the other witnesses?”

  “They’ve gone deeper into hiding, just as you did?” He shrugged to show he didn’t have all the answers any more than I did.

  “I suppose,” I said, warming to the first ray of hope I’d had in almost a year.

  “Look at it this way. If the authorities believed their witnesses were in danger, wouldn’t they have put you in witness protection instead of you going into hiding yourself?”

  “They did before the trial. Afterward, they considered the threat over. I have no idea how they’re viewing things now that he’s been released.”

  Kaden moved his arm from my waist to around my shoulders. He gently pulled me closer, tucking me under his arm and wrapping me in a cocoon of safety, just as he had in Seattle. When I was with him, all things were possible, but when I wasn’t, the doubts resurfaced.

  I gazed up at him. His answering smile was gentle and soft, reaching out to me in a way words never could. He captured my chin and tilted it upward. His gaze met mine, flicked to my lips, which had parted of their own volition, then back to my eyes again.

  “Is it crazy that I want you?” His voice was raw, full of need, and dripping with sex.

  “If it is, I’m crazy, too,” I answered honestly, knowing anything else would be a lie clearly reflected in my gaze. I was so weary of lying and running and being afraid. To fall into his arms and forget for a while was what I needed right now to recharge my batteries. I’d be able to think more clearly in the morning and come up with a new strategy, but tonight was ours. The nights had always been ours.

  His mouth came down on mine, soothing but demanding at the same time. He wasn’t taking no for an answer, and I wasn’t saying no. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him with the power of the rampaging emotions set free by a few glasses of wine. He responded with his own brand of hotness. We couldn’t get enough of each other. I straddled him, my legs on either side of his hips, and barely broke our lip-lock.

  I was on fire, inside and out, an unquenchable thirst, and only he held the right ingredients to quench my thirst. Kaden slid those big, rough hands of his under my blouse, contacting my bare skin. I whimpered into his mouth, which served to drive him a little crazier, and me, too. I rubbed my crotch against his erection, and he groaned, sliding his mouth along my jaw and to my neck. He sucked and nipped. I’d have a mark come morning, but what a small price to pay for being with this man. I’d be damned if I was stopping him.

  He unbuttoned the first few buttons on my blouse. When I didn’t protest but drew back to watch him, he cast a smoldering glance at me before continuing his not-so-arduous task.

  He pushed the material off my shoulders. His satisfied smirk said it all as he gazed upon my girls with the rosy nipples standing erect in homage to the man who made them tingle.

  “It’s been too long,” he rasped in awestruck wonder, making me feel like the most desirable woman on earth. “It’s you. Only you that I want.”

  I threaded my fingers through his longish unruly hair. He loved it when I tugged on his hair or fisted it in my hands, and he uttered a guttural growl in response.

  “I love your tits.” A cocky grin softened the hard angles of his face and lit up his eyes with the promise of a blistering night between the sheets. Or not. We’d never been much for conventional sex. Half of our escapades took place in odd places, somewhat public, and definitely daring, like the rooftop of the hotel he’d booked or the front seat of his car, or the blow job I’d given him on the Ferris wheel at night. We were about to add a dock to our carnal list of places to fuck.

  I glanced toward the inn for the first time. All the windows were dark except for the one light that was always on in the living room. The trees concealed us from any nosy person looking out a window, and we’d hear anyone approaching on the gravel path long before they were close enough to see us.

  This was as safe a place as any, especially compared to some of the others.

  Kaden was my bad boy, and he called forth my inner bad girl. She’d been uncaged a few times prior. But with Kaden, she rattled the bar and begged to be let out every time he came within range. Only he held the key, one that he gladly wielded with unfettered joy.

  “Were you checking to see if anyone is watching?” He grinned with devilish delight.

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You’re a naughty boy.”

  “You bring it out in me. I want to fuck you.” He nuzzled my neck as he fingered my nipples. A shudder of anticipation slid up and down my spine. When he pinched one, a shot of joyous pain shot through me.

  “Please. Oh, please.”

  “Here?” He trailed kisses down my shoulder to my breast, and I wriggled with impatience on his lap.

  “Keep that up, and this’ll be over sooner rather than later.” His warning went unheeded as I leaned back and ground into him. He pulled me closer and licked my nipple, followed by a soft nip before he closed his lips over it and sucked. I threw back my head and moaned from the pleasure coursing through my veins and impatiently settling below my navel. My body demanded satisfaction, and while Kaden was giving me a measure, it wasn’t enough. I needed more. I needed him. All of him. Here. Now. Definitely now.

  “Fuck me now. Please,” I pleaded with everything I had, but Kaden went to work on the other nipple before raising his head to regard me with a dirty smile. I loved his dirty smiles because they reflected what was going on in that dirty mind of his. And I did adore his dirty mind.

  He stood, holding me by the waist and setting me on my feet as I slid off his lap. He whipped off his sweatshirt and laid it on the wooden bench. As he did so, I removed the remainder of my clothes lightning fast. His brows shot upward when he straightened and got an eyeful of naked skin. There came that slow, dirty smile again.

  “You’re wearing entirely too many clothes,” I said.

  “Not for long.” He beat my record for getting naked. Before I was able to react, he tossed me on the bench and stood over me. I stared up at him with the most sultry come-hither I was able to manage.

  “Fuck me,” I challenged him again. “I dare you.”

  “That’s a dare I won’t refuse.”

  “I’m counting on it.”

  I was already wet and willing, no additional foreplay needed. No condoms needed either. I was on birth control, which I’d established with Kaden during our previous times together, once I’d grown to trust him. Sex without a condom, feeling his cock inside me, feeling him fill me produced the greatest high I’d ever known.

  “Spread ’em, ma’am,” he drawled in what I suspected was to be an Old West gunslinger’s voice. He wasn’t a great actor but made up for his shortcoming with enthusiasm.

  “I’m more than happy to oblige,” I drawled back. I wasn’t going to win any actor of the year awards myself. I spread my legs wide and arched my back, winking at him.

  “You’re a bad, bad girl.”

  “And you like me that way.”

  “I do. I love you that way.” He swung one muscular leg to the other side of my body and lowered himself until his cock rubbed against that part of me aching for him. I held my breath, knowing his game. The bastard loved to make me wait for it. He was well-versed in the art of subtle torture, and I loved every minute of it. Hell, I loved him. I had since the moment I’d laid eyes on him in that bar. I’d known then he was meant for me.

  He pushed inside, inch by inch, excruciatingly slow, making me wait for it. Having spent months with this man, I had my own bag of tricks. I knew how to make him beg, shout, and fall apart. I ran my fingernails down his spine, and his eyes rolled back in his head. His guttural groan was all the encouragement I needed. I had my own brand of torture.

  I angled my hips and forced him deeper. He bit down on his lower lip and clenched his jaw. I had him right where I wanted him—between my legs and on the verge of doing my bidding. I’d turned the tables but had no doubt he’d
turn them again. It was like that with us. A fine balance of power that switched often and neither of us had a problem with it. Sex was way more interesting when a person never knew what was up until it played out in whatever venue we chose.

  With a grunt, he buried himself fully inside me and held himself there. He buried his face in my shoulder. From experience, I knew he was gritting his teeth and willing his dick to behave and not go for instant gratification. I’d be good with a fast fuck. It’d been too long since Kaden had been inside me, and my own fingers weren’t any replacement for this man.

  Finally, he rose, holding his upper body off me with his strong arms braced on either side of me. His blue eyes glittered in the moonlight like blue flames ready to flare into passion at a moment’s notice.

  I moved underneath him. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I dug my heels into his ass and urged him to get this show on the road. His control was worn far thinner than I recalled. Absence did make the heart grow fonder or hornier or both.

  He began his steady assault, in and out, starting slow and building steam as we both gave in to the raw need demanding to be met. The dock rocked to the rhythm of our bodies as water splashed on one side then the other. The sounds blended in with the sounds of bodies slapping against each other punctuated by groans and grunts and whimpers.

  I knew the exact moment he was going to come because his body tensed and shuddered as he fought to restrain his eager cock. My own body vibrated with lust. One small movement from him would send me over the edge.

  We held still for a split second, eyes locked, bodies locked, souls locked, before he pulled out and gave one final thrust.

  It was all over after that. We came with all the pent-up lust inside us like a flash storm raging on the Pacific Ocean.

  He held me tight, as we floated back to earth from the heaven we’d witnessed. I wanted to hold on to that heaven forever, but I never could. It always eluded me and slid from my grasp as it did once again.

  “I love you, Lanie,” his whispered huskily.

  “I love you, too, K.”

  We clung to each other as if, by doing so, no one would ever be able to tear us apart.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Pizza or?

  ~~Kaden~~

  * * *

  I held Lanie until our breathing returned to normal. Reluctantly, I stood and helped her up. We dressed in silence, the closeness gone, replaced with a tenseness I didn’t like but didn’t know how to banish either.

  We loved each other. Wasn’t it true, love could conquer all, even an ex bent on destroying her and me in the process? I’d always been a player, even as I’d believed eventually love would find me. I hadn’t planned on Cupid’s arrow finding its mark this soon though. Maybe when I was thirty or so and ready to settle down. Love had no schedule, and mine was blown to shit. Might as well be since I’d never been a schedule follower unless forced to be, such as showing up for hockey games. Even then, I’d depended on my hockey-playing roommates to make sure I got to the arena on time.

  Our eyes met, and I read the regret in hers. She opened her mouth and I placed my index finger against her lips.

  “Don’t say it.”

  She pulled her head back, caught off guard. “Don’t say what?”

  “You were going to say this was all a mistake, and it shouldn’t have happened, and you’ve put me in danger. Blah. Blah. Blah.”

  She laughed in spite of herself. “You know me too well.”

  “I know everything about you, and I know nothing about you. How is that possible?”

  “I told you a lot tonight.”

  I nodded in agreement. She had, yet I didn’t know any of the little things, like what was her favorite color, favorite food, favorite band. Did she like animals? What was her family like outside of their public personas? All that kind of shit that people learned about each other when they dated, yet we’d never taken the time to learn. Somehow, we’d both known we were on borrowed time with each other, and we hadn’t wanted to waste a minute.

  I led her down the dock and up the short set of stairs in the embankment to a porch swing strung on the limbs of two large madrona trees. We sat down together, holding hands, our hips and thighs touching.

  We’d been given a second chance, and I wasn’t letting her slip away this time. “Now what? We’ve both said I love you, laid it on the line. Where do we go from here?” I’d hit her with my best shot.

  “Is there anywhere to go?” Her gaze was shuttered, wary. My girl on the run was back, protecting herself and protecting me. I didn’t need protection. I needed to be the protector.

  “In my world, there is.” I stared at our linked hands. “I’m not letting you run away this time.”

  “Kaden…it’s too—”

  “Dangerous. I know. You’ve told me that one hundred times, but we’ll think of something.”

  She gave me one of those pitying looks declaring I was delusional and there wasn’t any easy way out of this.

  “We need a plan.” And I knew just the guy to consult. Steele was a planner to humble all planners. If anyone might be able to help us, he could.

  “Kaden, there’s no way out of this.”

  “Promise you’ll give me a chance to work something out. You want to be with me, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Then trust me on this and give me your solemn vow you won’t skitter off to parts unknown.”

  “No skittering. I promise.” She crossed her heart, and I chuckled. A second later, she was wrapped in my arms, and we held each other tightly, refusing to let reality invade this happy moment.

  Finally, we rose together, and holding hands, we walked to the patio door to her room. We stood in front of the door, neither of us knowing where to go from here. I waited, hoping for an invitation inside. She fidgeted, not making a move to open the door and leave me behind. This was a good sign, from my point of view.

  I kissed her softly, my lips lingering against hers, not wanting this night to end and fearing when it did she’d change her mind in the morning and bolt once again.

  But she’d promised me. If she was the woman I thought she was, she’d be true to her word. Such thoughts shored up my flagging confidence.

  “Can I come in?”

  She hesitated and met my gaze long enough for me to see the indecision flash across her beautiful face. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “I think it’s the best idea I’ve had all night.”

  Without another word, she turned and unlocked the door, opened it wide, and invited me in. I was grinning broadly by the time I crossed the threshold.

  In no time, we were undressed and back at it. We couldn’t get enough of each other, and very little sleeping occurred.

  By morning, I was sprawled on my back alone in Lanie’s bed. There was a note on the pillow next to my head, and my phone was blowing up. I dealt with the note first and squinted in the morning light to read it.

  Had to start my morning. Some of us have to work. Thank you for the unforgettable evening.

  There’d be more unforgettable moments if I had anything to do with it. My phone vibrated again. I sighed and rolled my feet off the bed to sit up. I grabbed the phone from the nightstand and blinked several times as I saw the deluge of messages, all from my teammates and their girlfriends.

  Steele: Where are you?

  Axel: I heard you didn’t make it home last night?

  Easton: He scores!

  Caro: Are you okay or more than okay?

  Geneva: You’re welcome. ;) You can thank Caro and me later.

  Steele: Are you still with her? Everything okay?

  I ignored the rest, just more of the same. Steele’s texts made me smile. He was worried instead of giving me shit. Out of pity for our team fretter, I responded to him: It’s all good. Be home soon. Need some advice.

  Steele: I’ll be here.

  I took a quick shower in Lanie’s bathroom, dressed, and went in search of her.
I found her cleaning one of the upstairs rooms that’d been vacated this morning. She was singing to herself, and I paused unnoticed in the doorway to listen. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. Her song of choice was an old Beatles classic, causing me to wonder if she loved classic rock as much as I.

  “Hey,” I said huskily, startling her. She dropped her mop and spun around.

  “You scared me,” she accused with indignation, hands on her hips and breathing fire. I grinned all the more. I loved her when she went all ninja warrior on me.

  “Sorry.” I hung my head in an exaggerated attempt at contrition, but she saw right through me.

  “Sure you are.”

  I crossed the room in a few long strides and gathered her in my arms, kissing her soundly. I didn’t stop until she slid her hands between us and pushed against my chest.

  “I need to get back to work.”

  “Okay. What time are you done?”

  “Depends on the rooms I have to clean. Usually three, no later than four.”

  I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you at four thirty?”

  She hesitated, but I wasn’t letting her get away with that.

  “Love you,” I said and strode from the room. I’d be back, and she’d be waiting. Despite her reluctance, I saw what I needed to see in her eyes. She was as committed to me as I was to her.

  I made breakfast because my pig of a roomie refused to think on an empty stomach. Steele was forever hungry, and my stomach was growling, too, since I’d worked up quite an appetite the night before. We ate in relative silence. Steele wasn’t much for conversation while eating, which was cool with me.

  After we finished off heaping plates of eggs, bacon, and hash browns, I sat on a barstool and watched Steele clean up my mess, bitching the entire time about how many pots and pans I dirtied because bitching about my mess was what he did best. Easton and I used to torture him by leaving our crap all over the living room just to poke at him a little. No wonder he rarely dated. What woman would put up with a man tidier than she was? I guess that was a sexist thing to say, but in my limited experience, females were not nearly the slobs Axel, Easton, and I were.