He held open the door and they stepped into the dimly lit tavern-looking establishment. It never failed. As people realized a celebrity was in the house, they went quiet and then the whispering began.
“You always cause such a stir?” Evie asked.
He didn’t like it but it was part and parcel of the life he’d chosen. “That’s why I prefer Allstars,” he told her. “People have more respect for privacy. Come on. I see Emerson and a bunch of other guys on the team.”
He gestured to a table where a bunch of his teammates sat with cleat chasers hanging all over them.
“Jesus, there’s more boobs than clothing,” Evie muttered, causing Damon to grin. “I thought the term groupie was a cliché but apparently not.”
He shrugged, too used to the sight to be affected. “It’s part of the life.”
One wink and he could have his choice, including the same chick he’d gone home with when drunk one night. Candy? Connie? Ronnie? He groaned, hoping there wouldn’t be an issue. She seemed preoccupied with Drew Brown at the moment.
It was a sad fact that any of the females at that table would leave with him if he asked. But they only desired him as a trophy. So they could say they’d slept with Damon Prescott. And the more deluded ones? They hoped for more. Evie, on the other hand, had substance.
“Is it part of the life for you, too?” she asked, a hint of snark in her tone.
“Why do you want to know? Jealous?” he asked, hugging her tighter to him.
“You wish,” she muttered, and he thought she was right.
Maybe he wanted her to care.
“I’m just trying to figure out how many hearts you broke and if any of the women in your past could have drugged you to get back at you,” Evie explained.
He paused halfway across the room, stopping before they could be overheard. “I don’t lead women on.” It was important that she believe him. “Which means none of them have a reason to punish me for something.”
Before she could reply, someone bellowed, “Prescott, come join us!”
“Here goes nothing,” he muttered and led her to the table where his teammates waited.
“Who’s the babe?” Emerson asked, chugging a beer after he spoke.
Damon frowned. “Watch how you speak to her,” he warned his teammate. “Evie Wolfe, this is my—” He caught himself before saying backup. “This is Gregory Emerson, one of our quarterbacks. You already met Devon and James at Allstars.” He continued around the table with three more players, all nodding hello. “Guys, my … girlfriend, Evie.”
That pronouncement caused an uproar. Not from the two men who’d seen him with Evie at Allstars, but between Greg Emerson, Drew Brown, and the women who were looking Evie up and down, clearly finding her unworthy, everyone else had something to say.
“Her?” Candy, Mandy, or whatever looked at Evie with a scowl on her face.
Damon stiffened at the implied insult.
“Do you have a problem?” Evie asked, standing up for herself.
He was proud of her, but she didn’t need to get into it with one of his past mistakes.
Damon shot the woman a warning look. She only wished she could compete with Evie, who lacked bleached-blonde hair, fake long nails, and equally fake breasts. Considering the fact that Evie had snagged Damon, the formerly single quarterback, then yeah, he wasn’t shocked by the other woman’s attitude.
“Since when do you have a girlfriend?” Drew, a tight end, asked.
Damon pulled up one chair next to Emerson, then looked around for another, not finding one.
Evie put her hand on his arm. “Don’t worry, honey. We can share.”
Evie on his lap again meant a hard-on for the entire night, and he was oddly looking forward to it. He settled into the chair and waited. Evie glanced at him and was about to sit.
“Why don’t you take the jacket off?” he asked, wondering not for the first time why she insisted on wearing that thing in the summer, but she seemed attached to it.
She hesitated and shook her head. “I’m fine.”
She cuddled into him but she felt stiff and tense, no doubt from the women sitting across from them, trying to keep the attention of Damon’s teammates.
He brushed her hair off the back of her neck and whispered in her ear. “Relax. They’re jealous they can’t compete with how classy you look.”
His warm breath hit her neck and she shivered.
He glanced down and noticed her nipples had puckered against her sexy top.
“Classy? Really?” She sounded surprised by his choice of words.
He slid his hand beneath her jacket and cupped her waist. “Classy and sexy,” he whispered, pleased with the grin that lifted her plump lips.
“Prescott, you’ve been hiding her. How long have you been seeing each other?” Emerson asked.
“About a month,” Evie said. “But it got serious real fast, didn’t it, honey?” She ran her fingers through his hair, obviously back to herself and playing her part.
He’d rather imagine the interaction between them was real.
“It sure did.”
She shifted and his body felt like it was on fire. Her thighs aligned with his and her lush breasts pressed against his chest. The fruity scent he associated with Evie penetrated his nostrils and his cock grew hard. He clenched his jaw and attempted to concentrate on what was happening around them.
“So, Damon said you’re a quarterback, too? How does that work?” Evie asked, clearly playing dumb, but Emerson didn’t know that.
Greg squared his shoulders, pride suffusing his posture. “I’m in now that Damon’s out.”
A low growl escaped Damon’s throat and Evie patted his chest.
“Just for four weeks, Captain,” Greg Emerson said, acknowledging Damon’s status with the team and his own temporary one.
“Evie, how do you put up with him?” Devon asked with a chuckle.
Evie curled in closer to Damon, her hair brushing his face, and he stifled a groan.
“We’re just in sync,” she said coyly.
The woman with James rolled her eyes and Damon ignored her. She was a pinup-doll type, perfect for a one and done, but suddenly Damon didn’t find her type appealing. At all.
“Are you excited to get to start?” Evie asked Emerson.
The guy glanced at Damon, as if afraid to answer. Like he thought, puppy dog. “It’s okay, man. You can admit it. You’re thrilled to get the chance to show what you can do.”
“Nobody believes you cheated, Captain,” Emerson said, deferring to Damon.
James slapped him on the side of the head. “What’d we say when he walked in? Don’t bring it up.”
His guys had his back, and for that, Damon was grateful. He hoped Evie was getting the same vibe he did from Emerson, because the kid seemed harmless to him.
The rest of the night passed with Evie joking and drinking scotch with the guys, ignoring the jealous women, and asking questions that would give her insight into his teammates.
But Damon had had enough. “Ready to go?” he asked because it was getting late.
“Sure. I just want to go to the ladies’ room first.” She slid off his lap, and he was glad he could push his chair closer to the table and hide his erection.
He wanted her and had a feeling they were, as she’d said, in sync. But she was clearly independent and understandably wary of men. Which meant he had to ease her into trusting him and ultimately into what she feared most. A relationship. To begin with, somehow he had to get this woman willingly into his bed.
Chapter Five
Evie headed for the ladies’ room, doing her best not to stumble in her high heels. She missed her comfortable scuffed boots. She didn’t understand why women loved wearing stilettos. Of course, she liked how Damon looked her over when he’d seen her in the short skirt and heels, but she very much preferred being herself. The women’s bathroom was the first door, the men’s at the end of the hall.
She used the
restroom, washed her hands, touched up her lip gloss, and was about to walk out when the woman who’d done the most glaring at her from across the table strode in.
Evie pasted on a fake smile and started forward, eager to get back to Damon and go home.
“You do realize you’re not his type,” the catty female said.
Evie sighed. “We’re really going to do this?”
“I had him first.” The woman whose name Evie didn’t know placed her hand on her hips and thrust out her breasts.
Evie refrained from rolling her eyes. “How nice for you. I take it he didn’t come back for seconds. I think that tells you plenty.”
The woman’s face morphed from pleasant to angry in an instant. “He’ll get bored of you. Trust me.”
Evie smiled. “He hasn’t so far. Have a nice night.” Holding back the further immature urge to stick out her tongue, she walked out the door, leaving the other woman behind.
She shook her head. Never in a million years would she understand catty women or those who chased after a man who’d used or just didn’t want her any more than she understood Damon’s past with that type of female. He, like his teammates, could have their pick and took it when they could, and she’d do well to remember that.
Evie stepped into the empty hall and bumped into a hard male body. She wobbled on her heels and immediately reached out to grab on to something or someone before she fell. A strong hand grabbed her elbow, steadying her.
“Oh my God, thank you.” She glanced up into eyes she never expected to see. “John!”
Instinct had her reaching for her gun, but the knife at her side that no one could see and the determined gleam in his eye stopped her. “I wouldn’t move if I were you.”
Unwilling to be his victim again, she struggled to break his grip as he made his point with his weapon. The sharp blade pricked her skin where her cami top lifted, baring flesh beneath her jacket, and she swallowed hard, memories of the last time he’d used a knife on her vivid in her mind.
“How did you know where I’d be?” she asked.
“That gas leak? I called it in. Then I was able to get into your apartment and plant a listening device,” he said, obviously proud of himself. “You can’t escape me, Evie.”
Forcing the fear away, she asked, “What do you want?”
“For now? I just want you to remember that you ruined my life, and if I can’t be happy, neither can you.”
Another woman strode out of the restroom, and he pricked her with the point of the blade, warning her not to make a sound. He breathed in her face, making her want to vomit.
“Enjoy your time with your football player because it won’t last. I’ll make sure of that.” He pushed her away, causing her to really stumble as he headed for the exit at the end of the hall.
By the time she righted herself, two men had stepped out of the restroom, blocking her view of his disappearance.
She leaned against the wall, breathing hard, shaking inside and out.
“Miss? Are you all right?” one of the men asked as he came up to her.
She brought her hand to her side, afraid the nick to her skin was bleeding. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
He shrugged and headed back into the bar.
“Evie?” Damon had come around the corner and caught sight of her. “You were gone a long time and Candy, Mandy, whatever her name is came back…” His voice trailed off and he rushed over. “What happened?”
“John was here,” she said, hating the tremor in her voice. Her legs shook but she refused to fall apart or be a victim. “He wanted to make his point. With a knife. It seems to be his weapon of choice.”
“Son of a bitch. Where is he?” Damon’s entire body vibrated with suppressed anger, but she knew it was too late for him to do anything about it.
She tipped her head toward the side exit. “I couldn’t get to my gun fast enough. He already had his knife out and got the upper hand. Again.”
He exhaled a sharp breath, and she could see the strength it took for him to retrain his focus on her and not the threat, which was gone. For now.
“C’mere.” He held out his arms and she gave in, gratefully cuddling in close, absorbing his warmth and the safety he offered.
“He bugged my apartment,” she said, glancing up at him.
“What?”
She groaned. “Like I said, one step ahead of me. He used the gas leak as a cover.”
Damon frowned. “I’m guessing he was the firefighter nobody recognized.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone. “What’s your brother’s number?”
Although she had Mack’s cell in her contacts, she knew his number by heart and repeated it to Damon.
He dialed and apparently Mack answered quickly because Damon was repeating the incident. “No, don’t come here. He’s long gone and I don’t want a public scene. Evie will stay with me tonight and we can talk tomorrow.”
She wasn’t about to argue. John hadn’t just threatened her, he’d violated her personal space. He’d been in her apartment when she wasn’t there, easily blending in with the first responders. She shuddered at the thought.
“Gotta go, Mack. I’ll text you my address.” He disconnected the call and slid his phone into his back pocket, then met her gaze. “Are you going to give me a hard time about staying over tonight?” he asked, brushing her hair off her face.
She shook her head. “The fact that he found a way into my apartment and I didn’t know it shook me up. I don’t like it.” And though she wanted to believe she could handle and take care of herself, thus far John had been clever enough not to get caught, but Evie had every intention of having the last laugh.
In the meantime, while she calmed down and pulled herself and some ideas together, she didn’t mind going back to Damon’s, where she’d feel safe.
* * *
Damon rushed Evie out of the bar and back to his car, not bothering to stop by the table on the way out. Holding back his emotions at her being grabbed, threatened, and in some ways violated by her ex wasn’t easy, but she needed support, not an explosion of anger on his part. Despite her calm demeanor, he knew she was rattled, and he refused to make it harder on her by showing he was pissed off, too.
He closed her in and climbed into his side of the vehicle. As he drove them home, Evie leaned back against the leather and wriggled her butt into the seat.
“Comfortable?” he asked, grinning at her movements and glad she was managing to relax.
“In these plush seats? You know I am. Although your lap was pretty good, too,” she said coyly.
“Be careful how far you push me or I might let you feel how much I liked you there,” he warned her, well aware she was deflecting the conversation before he could ask her how she was feeling. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t reply honestly. “Do you want to talk about tonight?”
She shook her head, which he caught from the corner of his eye as he drove.
“I’m going to have to go through it again in the morning with Mack. I’d rather not talk about it now.” She curled into herself and he regretted asking.
“So, what did you make of the guys at the table tonight?” He changed the charged subject.
She visibly relaxed, leaning against the door. “They’re fun. Most of them have no stake in whether you play. In fact, they obviously want you in so the team can win. Not that they’d say as much in front of Greg Emerson.”
He had the same impression. He gripped the leather steering wheel tighter in his hand.
“I went into meeting him assuming he’d be capable of undermining you. But you’re right. He’s like a dog that follows you around, doesn’t want to piss you off, and at the same time, of course he wants his chance to prove himself.” Evie summed up her perception of his backup quarterback with much the same take as Damon had of the guy.
She glanced out at the road as he drove. “I’d never rule out anyone without proof, but my gut says you’re right. It’s not him.”
Damon nodded and turned off his exit. “So, you’re okay staying with me tonight?” She hadn’t argued when or after he’d said as much to her brother, and Damon hadn’t brought up the subject since.
“As long as you know I can take care of myself. I just think it’s smarter, knowing that John’s found ways into my place I couldn’t have foreseen.”
He reached out and placed a hand on her arm. “If there’s one thing I’m certain of, you’re a fighter and you can handle anything that’s thrown at you,” he said, meaning it.
He pulled into the driveway and parked in his garage, exiting, coming around to help her out, and shutting the door behind her.
She turned, leaning against it. “Thank you for believing in me.”
Reaching over, he tucked her hair behind her ear. “There’s no saying a woman can’t hold her own against a man. You’re a private investigator, aren’t you?”
She nodded. “And I have to admit it’s a fun job sometimes.”
“Like when you sat in my lap?” He stepped in close, boxing her in between his body and the car.
She grinned. “It had its moments.”
He knew he’d enjoyed it. “Want to know what I thought about the whole time you were sitting on me?”
She slid her tongue over her lips and he followed the movement, suppressing a groan. “What?”
“This.” He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers, the taste of her consuming him as he pressed his hard body against her softer one.
She moaned, wrapping her arms around his neck as he slid his hands into her hair and plunged his tongue into her mouth. Eager, too, she reciprocated, her tongue tangling with his, their needs an equal match as desire ramped up between them. Her hips began to grind against his, and he thrust his aching cock into the vee of her hips, over and over again. It was fast and hard and he lost all sense of time and place.
He had no idea how long they stood, making out like horny teenagers, nor did he care until the automatic light in the garage flicked off, leaving them in total darkness.
He stepped back and fumbled for his key fob, finally managing to close the garage door, which reengaged the overhead light.
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