“Mmmm.” He made the sound through gritted teeth. “I’d better be. Trying to be, right now.”
She smiled to herself. It was going to be okay. More than okay. “You can touch me, you know. I want you to.”
“You sure? It’s your first time in a situation like this. I want to respect that.” He curved a hand around her hip, and her flesh jumped. Tingles spread from that point of contact, warming her skin and causing liquid heat to pool between her legs. She shifted restlessly, transformed by that one caress from wariness to eagerness.
She loved that he was so thoughtful, she really did. But—more. She wanted more.
And she didn’t even have to say it, because he read the signals her body was sending. He spread his hands across her belly, then up to the underside of her breasts. He cupped one breast in his hand, brushing his thumb across the fabric covering her nipple.
The quick zip of pleasure made her jump. “That’s feels so good,” she said quickly, afraid he might think he’d hurt her. “Please keep going.”
“I was thinking we should take this off.” His voice sounded like he had a burr stuck in his throat.
“Sure. Okay.” She nodded eagerly, then sat up so he could reach the fastener in back. He sat up as well, so he could use both hands on her bra. The covers fell away and she saw his upper half, illuminated only by the low light coming in at the edge of the drapes. He was so finely made, so compact and honed, and he was all hers.
Her mouth literally watered.
“Let’s turn on a light,” she said.
“Sure. You turned it off so quickly, I figured you felt more comfortable in the dark.” He unfastened her bra and eased it open. She shucked the straps down her arms and tossed it away. Her exposed nipples hardened in the current wafting from the air conditioner. Or maybe from the way his gaze snapped to her chest. She felt it like a physical weight, arousing and teasing.
“I did, but that was then. Now I think we should have some light.” She reached to the night table and flicked on a lamp. Its golden light cascaded off Jim’s shoulders and arms, and made his eyes glimmer. His expression read equal parts awe and lust.
“You’re so exquisite and beautiful,” he breathed. With one finger, he traced the upper curve of her breasts, dipping into the valley between them. Her nipples tightened even further, even though he hadn’t touched them yet.
She wanted him to touch them. She wanted him to touch her everywhere, all at once. Whatever hesitation she’d had, there was no sign of it now. Sighing, she drank in the sensations he was eliciting from her body. Shivers up and down her arms. A rising heat between her legs. And then, when he finally did touch her nipples, a bright shock. When he bent forward to lick them, she was sure nothing on earth could ever feel as good.
Unless…
“Let’s take off our underpants too,” she whispered.
“You’re sure?”
“Stop that! Yes, I’m sure. I want to see everything. And I want you to see everything.” She flopped onto her back and slid off her panties. He did the same, but his movements were awkward because he was watching her the whole time. But finally, his boxers were off and she got a look at the shaft of flesh he sported.
Her mouth went dry. It didn’t look too big, the way romance novels suggested. It didn’t look too small—not that she had a frame of reference. It looked perfect. It looked like him. Like a part of him she wanted to know.
She touched him and heard his breath hiss through his teeth. “Did I hurt you?”
“No! No, it feels so good when you touch me I can hardly stand it.” He put his hand over hers, moving it at a light, skimming pace. She lost herself in the motion and the satiny feel of his penis.
She was so fascinated, so rapt, that she didn’t notice his hand at her mound until sensation hurtled through her system. He was touching her clit, a place only she had ever touched before, and the way he did it—a warm thumb, clever fingers, sweet wet friction—ah, it was beyond anything she’d anticipated.
“Jim, oh my gosh, I can’t even…oh Jim,” she sighed. “Oh my gosh…what…that’s…”
Bright white pleasure exploded out of nowhere. She rocked against him, nearly toppling over from the surprise of it. He somehow managed to keep his hand on her sex, urging the orgasm on and on. Gasping against him, she moaned and writhed through spasm after spasm.
He stayed with her, whispering how gorgeous and sexy she was, how much he loved her, how long he’d dreamed of being with her like this.
When she finally came down from her ecstatic peak, she was trembling with emotion. She sobbed into the crook of his neck. Tears of happiness ran down her face and dripped onto his shoulder.
“Sweetheart, why are you crying?” he asked in alarm.
“Because I’m so glad I waited,” she wailed. “You love me and I love you and I feel it every time we touch. It’s so…so…beautiful.”
She felt his laugh under her cheek. “I do love you. I never thought I’d make you cry, though.” He stroked her back softly.
“Good tears. Really good tears.”
She snuggled against him, her nipples pressed against his chest. They were still hard. In fact, she still felt just as turned-on as before. Maybe all the lust she’d stored up since she’d met Jim was boiling over. But once again, she wanted—more.
She pressed her sex against the hot shaft burning her skin. “Let’s go all the way,” she said decisively.
“Are you—”
“Don’t you dare ask if I’m sure. I want to have sex with you and feel this inside me.” She wrapped her hand around it. “I want to be naked, not under the covers, with the lights on, making love with the man I’m going to marry. Can you handle that?”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
And finally—finally!—he threw her down on the bed and had his way with her. And it was every bit as glorious as her favorite novels promised.
22
Sunday morning in San Diego—the perfect time for a double date. Maggie always looked forward to her and Dwight’s outings with Nina and Jim. They all felt like newcomers to the city, which seemed vast and filled with people compared to Kilby. The players didn’t have much time to spare, but occasionally, if there was time before the day’s game, they all got together and did something crazy.
Like dress up in costume and visit the local children’s hospital.
Arm in arm, the four of them strolled down the hallway as if it was the land of Oz. Maggie, her hair in two braids, got to be Dorothy, while Nina took on the Cowardly Lion role. Nina was in charge of the costumes; she’d found a big fuzzy lion bodysuit at a local costume shop. She’d also put together a Tin Man outfit for Jim, complete with silver face paint. Dwight, as the Scarecrow, had the floppy moves down, though he left a trail of straw behind him.
Every child’s face went bright with wonder as they passed. Sometimes they crowded into a kid’s hospital room, following the nurse’s guidance. Nina had brought the nurse a fairy wand so she looked like Glinda the good witch. Eventually they wound up in the lounge, where the kids took a break from coloring and watching TV.
“We’re looking for the Wizard of Oz,” Maggie told the kids as they filed into the room. “We heard he might be here and we have a few requests for him. Scarecrow, do you have anything to say?”
“I would, if I only had a brain!”
Dwight, of course, was the star of the show, with his floppy Scarecrow dance. He just had a way about him, a knack for coaxing a smile from just about anyone. He dropped to his knees, jumped up again, flopped across the room knock-kneed.
The sound of the kids’ laughter warmed Maggie to the bottom of her soul.
Then Lieberman took his turn, doing a stiff kind of robot dance around the room and asking the kids if anyone had seen his heart. Nina prowled around the room as the Cowardly Lion, letting the kids pet her furry head. “C-courage!” she roared. “Can anyone here spare some courage?”
And finally, Maggie, chann
eling Dorothy. “As for me, I just want to go home. You guys know what I mean, right?”
The kids nodded, some of them sad, some still smiling from the goofy show.
“But even after I go home, I’ll never forget the friends I made.” They all linked arms again. “Once you find your heart, your brain and your courage, you can face anything. Even flying monkeys!” And they all pretended to flee from dive-bombing monkeys as the kids shrieked and laughed.
Afterwards, they each spent time talking to the children one-on-one, with Glinda the good nurse facilitating.
After that, they changed into their normal clothes. Jim and Dwight signed baseballs for the sports fans among the kids, and even a few for the hospital staff. They chatted about the season and the upcoming playoffs, and the chances that the Friars might snag a wild-card spot.
Maggie waited patiently with Nina. Being a “baseball wife”—girlfriend, in this case—involved a lot of waiting. Everywhere they went, eager fans wanted to talk about the team. Luckily, she often spent that time playing with new ways to sort data to find a hidden statistical gem to help the team. Some of her best brainstorming moments happened while Dwight was answering questions about the team’s chemistry and playoff prospects.
“What do you think about while you’re waiting for Jim?” she asked Nina.
“Think about? Hm, I guess how funny life is,” Nina said.
“What do you mean, funny?”
“Not too long ago, I was living in hiding, basically. I rarely talked to my own brother. And I felt so guilty because he took the punishment for something I did. I am the Cowardly Lion.” She giggled. “I didn’t need a costume to tell me that. Then everything changed when I took that bus to see the team in Albuquerque. That was the first step. And now here I am, engaged to Jim and dressing up as the Cowardly Lion. Life is just funny, that’s all.”
Maggie smiled at her younger friend. “No argument there. When I started writing my thesis, I had no idea I would end up all the way across the country, surrounded by palm trees and baseball hunks.”
“With one exceptional hunk in particular.”
“He is something, isn’t he?” She gazed at Dwight, who was busy signing something for a doctor with a stethoscope slung around his neck. Dwight looked up, caught her eye and winked. She sent him a secret smile, in which she promised all kinds of fun the next time they were alone.
“Trevor said he’s making a speech at a hospital fundraiser. He’s been practicing it in the clubhouse and driving everyone crazy.”
“Yes. He’s pretty nervous about it. He’s rehearsed it so much, even I know it by heart. I’m afraid to tell him that my parents are coming too.”
Nina laughed and linked arms with her. “If he needs a little extra courage, let me know.”
Finally, Jim and Dwight joined them and they all strolled out of the hospital. Dwight slid on his shades to fend off the bright sunshine, while Maggie put on a sun hat. The climate in San Diego, with its ocean breezes, was much easier on her than Kilby. But she still took care not to overdo it.
Jim checked his watch. “We have an hour and a half until we’re due at the ballpark.” He interrupted himself by punching both hands overhead. “Woot! I’m a San Diego Friar! Seriously, sometimes I can’t even believe it’s real.”
“Looks good on you, too.” Dwight gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. “Ain’t no going back to Kilby. Unless you get an injury. Or hit a slump. Or—”
“Okay, okay,” Jim grumbled. “I get it. Don’t get too cocky.”
They headed for Dwight’s car. “That’s baseball, baby. And you gotta love it.”
None of them could argue with that, since they all loved the game of baseball in their own particular way. Maggie found it magical, the way baseball could bring together four very different people, from different parts of the country, with different backgrounds.
They got into the Tahoe, Jim and Nina in the back where they could snuggle, Maggie in the passenger seat, where Dwight could hold her hand.
“There would be one bright side to getting sent back to Kilby,” Nina suggested.
Dwight and Jim hooted that one down. “Only someone who isn’t a pro ballplayer would say that,” Dwight told her. “This is the Show. This is where it’s at and always will be.”
“Yes, but think about the barbecue.”
Maggie laughed. “She’s got a point there. There’s no place like Kilby when it comes to smoked meat.”
“Kilby has the best mayor, too. I nearly got to see her get married.” She elbowed Jim in the ribs. “I hear it was a beautiful wedding.”
“Not as beautiful as ours will be,” he promised. And she dove into his arms, seat belt be damned.
Dwight and Maggie sighed; they were used to this.
“I’ll never forget Kilby either,” Dwight told her. “For one reason only. You.”
Her heart melted the way it always did when he said such romantic things. “Don’t try to make me cry. I’m a data analyst. I’m all about the numbers.”
“Okay, then. Here are the numbers. You’re the one woman who rules my heart. I got two hands to please you. Three…uh…” He stalled out. “Three blind mice? Three wishes?”
“I’ll take the three wishes,” she said quickly. “You can keep the mice.”
He laughed. “All right then. Three wishes, coming up. What do you wish for, sweet thing?”
“Easy.” She took his hand, interlacing their fingers. “Love, peace and baseball. Boom.”
In the backseat, Nina and Lieberman extracted themselves from their clinch. “Did I hear someone say love, peace and baseball?” Jim asked.
“My three wishes.” Maggie turned to include them in the conversation.
Nina bounced up and down in her seat. “Oooh, we get wishes? Awesome. I want…” She pondered, screwing up her face. “The same thing. Love, peace and baseball.” She and Maggie shared a high-five, then she cast a mischievous grin around at the others.
“Doubled.”
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Also by Jennifer Bernard
Love Between the Bases
All of Me
Caught By You
Getting Wound Up (crossover with Sapphire Falls)
Drive You Wild
Crushing It
Jupiter Point (firefighters)
Set the Night on Fire (1)
Burn So Bright (2)
Into the Flames (3)
Setting Off Sparks (4)
Novellas
Seeing Stars
Finding Chris Evans: The Hotshot Edition
The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel
The Fireman Who Loved Me
Hot for Fireman
Sex and the Single Fireman
How to Tame a Wild Fireman
Four Weddings and a Fireman
The Night Belongs to Fireman
Novellas
One Fine Fireman
Desperately Seeking Fireman
It’s a Wonderful Fireman
About the Author
Jennifer Bernard is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. Her books have been called “an irresistible reading experience” full of “quick wit and sizzling love scenes.” A graduate of Harvard and former news promo producer, she left big city life in Los Angeles for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She still hasn’t adjusted to the cold, so most often she can be found cuddling with her laptop and a cup of tea. No stranger to book success, she also writes erotic novellas under a naughty secret name that she’s happy to share with the curious. You can learn more about Jennifer and her books at JenniferBernard.net and sign up for her newsletter here.
Connect with Jennifer online at:
JenniferBernard.net
[email protected]
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