Warning Track

by Meghan Quinn

  “I have no doubt you won’t even challenge me,” Margo said, as she bounced on her toes at short stop, getting ready to field some ground balls.

  “We’ll see about that.” Parker tossed the ball in the air and hit a grounder straight at Margo. With ease, she fielded the ball, cradling it into her glove and in one fluid motion, transferred the ball to her throwing hand and threw it back at Parker. God, her movements were so smooth; he was turned on from watching her, which was a little freaky.

  “You can do better than that, Kirbs, Margo called out as she crouched in her ready position.

  A smirk spread across Parker’s face as he tossed the ball out of his glove and hit it scorching through the air, onto the ground, where it took one hop and sailed right at Margo’s stomach, where she caught it before being taken out. With grace, she danced on her toes as she threw the ball back.

  “Damn, Mo, I would have thought you would have been a little rusty, but I guess not.”

  “Don’t underestimate my talent, Kirbs. Girls got game.”

  Parker threw his head back and laughed as he hit her another grounder. Parker challenged her every possible way he could think of, but she just sucked each ball up as if it was the easiest thing she’d ever done. Not once did she bobble the ball, trip, or miss one. She was so damn talented.

  Brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes, she slapped her glove, got in position and said, “Come on, Kirbs, give me something good.”

  Fuck, she was adorable. She chose to wear short shorts and Parker didn’t know if she did so because he told her to or because she wanted to torture him, but whatever it was, he appreciated it, as well as her hot pink tank top.

  Wanting to get one past her, Parker got in his stance and hit the ball up the middle, knowing there was no way she was going to get it.

  As if he was watching in slow motion, Margo took three steps toward second base and stretched her body across the dirt. The ball that was supposed to sail by her, flew into her glove as she slid toward second. With cat-like reflexes, she hopped onto her feet and flung the ball at Parker, stunning him completely. The smile on Margo’s face stretched from ear to ear as she casually brushed off some of the dirt that had accumulated on her clothes.

  Parker just shook his head and laughed, “Show off.”

  “Hey, now. Don’t be jealous, Kirbs. Not everyone can be as good as me.” Margo sauntered over to Parker and, right when he thought she was going to touch him, she bent in front of him and grabbed the PowerAde they’d brought to drink. Like a total creeper, Parker watched Margo’s lips caress the edge of the bottle as she guzzled down the sports drink. He was jealous, jealous of a damn sports drink because he wanted Margo’s lips all over him instead.

  When she pulled the bottle away, she offered him the drink, but instead of taking it, he lifted her chin with his finger and pressed his lips against hers. He didn’t care what she thought about his attack, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He needed a taste of her.

  At first, he stunned her because she stood in front of him completely stiff, but he coaxed her with his lips and in no time, she joined him in their lip lock.

  She tasted like heaven, better than he expected, like cherry Chap Stick, lemon lime sports drink, and something that was all Margo. Parker dropped the bat and wrapped his hand around her to rest on the small of her back. He dragged her in closer and moved his other hand up to cup her face. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get close enough, he needed to be closer, but before he could make that happen, Margo pulled away.

  She stared up at him wide-eyed with perfectly swollen lips from his kisses. Pride surged through his body for being able to mark such a strong woman, he’d marked her…as his.

  Stepping back from him as she brought the tips of her fingers to her lips, she shook her head. “I don’t know what came over me.”

  Parker smirked and stepped forward, “I know what came over you. You can’t resist a hot piece of ass like this.” Parker turned to the side and slapped his butt.

  Margo quirked an eyebrow at him and said, “Not sure if I just kissed a man or a woman just now.”

  “I can confirm that for you if you need me to.” Parker wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Not interested.” She grabbed her glove that she must have dropped when they were kissing and headed back to short stop.

  “Where do you think you’re going? You can’t just kiss me like that and walk away.”

  “Watch me.”

  “Devil. You are the devil!” he called out.

  “You can’t just go around sticking your tongue in people’s mouths, Parker, and expect them to fall at your feet.”

  “I didn’t use tongue,” Parker corrected and then said, “If I’d used tongue, would you still be in my arms?”

  “If you’d used tongue, you would have found that bat shoved up your ass and my cleat in your mouth. You’re lucky I let that kiss slide, but next time, I won’t be as kind.” She smiled and walked away.

  Hot damn! Parker was going to have one hell of a night!

  **Brady**

  “I brought home some fried chicken,” Brady called out as he set dinner on the counter. Jane came sauntering in, wearing a pair of pink striped pajama shorts and a tank that showed off her protruding belly. Brady couldn’t get enough of his wife, every time he saw her he felt like he fell more in love with her.

  “Fried chicken? You know the way to my heart, don’t you?”

  Brady smiled and said, “I know the way to a pregnant southern woman’s heart.”

  Pulling out the containers of mashed potatoes, corn and chicken, Jane looked at him and smiled. “You got all the good stuff. If I don’t toss myself into a food coma tonight, you’re going to get lucky, Mr. Matthews.” Jane shoved a biscuit in her mouth and smiled.

  “I have never been more turned on,” Brady said sarcastically as he poured them each a glass of sweet tea.

  “How was your day?” Jane asked, as she sat down at the bar-height chairs that sat at the island.

  “It was good. Had a good workout and blew up the cage with some batting practice. Marc was there, he decided to come help me out, toss me some bp.”

  “I’m surprised he was able get his retired ass out of bed. Patty said he’s been living it up.”

  “Yeah, the bastard, but he wanted to get a workout in and when he saw me in the weight room, he offered to throw some bp, hence me lighting up the cage…the man was a catcher for a reason.”

  “You’d think he’d have a good arm, given the fact that he use to throw out men across the diamond with ease,” Jane said, as she chomped down on a piece of chicken. The skin didn’t quite make it in her mouth and instead slapped her in the chin. With little grace, she grabbed the piece of skin and shoved it in her mouth. That was his girl, the mother of his child.

  “He kept saying it was the distance that was throwing him off. The man is full of complete bullshit.” Brady joined Jane on the chair next to her and said, “There was one thing that I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Oh?” Jane asked, as she shoveled mashed potatoes in her mouth.

  “Yeah, what was with your text message today?”

  Jane put down her fork and turned on her chair so she was facing Brady. “I was hoping you were going to let that go.”

  “Do I ever let something go that concerns you and me?”

  “No.”

  Brady lifted her chin so she had to look him in the eyes. “Talk to me, sweet thing. What was going on in that pretty little head of yours when you sent me that text message?”

  Blowing out a long breath, Jane took a sip of her tea and then said, “Connor and Lucy got in this big fight last night, over Connor helping out Molly. They found Luke…”

  “They found Luke? Seriously?” When Luke passed away, it was not only hard on the girls, but it was hard on Brady as well. When they first met, they’d bonded, so it felt like Brady had lost a brother. When he came back, Brady was elated, but got excited too quickly because th
e man took off without letting anyone know where he was.

  “Yes, he was with his friend, Nash, from the army.” Brady just nodded, letting Jane continue. “Anyway, Lucy was clearly mad that Connor was helping Molly, since they can’t even be in the same room as each other, so Lucy blew up and stormed out.”

  “Okay…” Brady dragged out. “How does this affect us and our marriage?”

  “Well, we were trying to help Lucy talk it out when Connor came into the office to drop off lunch for her. You should have seen it, it was like magic; they instantly forgave each other and were kissing as if it was the first time they ever kissed. I had never seen a fight diffuse so fast. I then thought about our fights and how we’ve never made up like that…”

  “No, we make up in bed,” Brady wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Stop it.” Jane shoved Brady’s chest. “I’m serious.”

  Grabbing Jane’s hands, he kissed the back of both of them. “Jane, don’t compare us to other couples. Everyone is different. We are both stubborn as hell and sometimes, when we do get in fights, we don’t like to relent so quickly. There’s nothing wrong with that. The only reason you should be concerned is if we actually didn’t work things out, which is not the truth when it comes to our relationship. We always work things out.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Jane relented as she looked down at their joined hands. “I just want to make sure we have a solid foundation before we bring a baby into this world.”

  “We do, Jane. It concerns me that you think differently.”

  “It’s not that I don’t think we do, it’s just something in the back of my mind that makes me nervous. It’s hard to explain.”

  “Have I done something lately to cause you to think differently of us, of me?” Brady didn’t understand why they were talking about their relationship and how, according to Jane, it needed to be “fixed.” Brady wanted to blame it on the pregnancy crazies, but the look in Jane’s eyes startled him. She really was having doubts.

  “You haven’t done anything, I just…I don’t know what I’m saying.”

  “Jane, I’m not going to lie, you’re scaring the shit out of me right now.”

  At his words, her head shot up and she cupped his face in her hands. She looked him deeply in the eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. There’s nothing to worry about, I just wanted to make sure we were ready, as a couple, to handle bringing another life into the world. I just want to make sure we’re on the same page, you know?”

  Brady leaned in and kissed Jane’s lips lightly, relishing the way she tasted. “Jane, I want nothing more than to have a family with you and grow old with you. I think we’ve been through a lot as a couple and that might scare you, but we’ve made it through all the shit that has come at us and we’ve made it through stronger. That should tell you something. Yes, we might have our petty fights, but we work through them. The time it takes to work through them doesn’t matter, what matters is that we go to bed together, just as in love, or even more, than when we woke up.”

  Jane nodded as she placed a kiss on his lips. “I love you,” she said softly.

  “I love you too, pip-squeak.” Brady bopped her nose with his finger. “Now, what the hell are we going to name the little nugget that pops out of you?”

  “With the way I’ve been feeling lately, her name is going to be Bertha.”

  Brady laughed. “You are not naming our baby girl Bertha. I don’t care that she has to come out of you…that is out of the question.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Jane smirked, as she started in on her food again.

  **Margo**

  “If you keep moving, then I won’t be able to clean it out,” Parker scolded.

  “Exactly, that stuff stings like a bitch. I’m not stupid.”

  “Stop being a baby and just hold still. Believe me, you’re not going to want this to get all infected with green puss.”

  “I think I just dry heaved,” Margo responded, as they sat in Jake and Lexi’s bathroom with her legged propped on the tub.

  “Well, you can either suck it up or be disgusting, your choice.”

  “I hate you right now.”

  Parker smirked as he opened the hydrogen peroxide and maneuvered her knee so it was over the tub. It looked like he was enjoying this torture way too much, but it was also endearing, that he wanted to take care of her. The carrying her in the house part was a little much, but she wasn’t going to complain about being held in Parker’s arms. The whole day was kind of weird. He kissed her, actually kissed her. What the hell was she supposed to do with that? She’d been dying to be kissed by Parker for years and now that it happened, she didn’t think she could go another minute without his lips on hers. He was perfect, so charmingly perfect.

  “Sit tight, Mo. This is going to sting.”

  Parker bent over her knee and gently poured the hydrogen peroxide over her open wound. A hiss came out of Margo’s lips as she tensed at the liquid doing its job of cleaning out the dirt and grime that had embedded itself in her wound.

  Quickly, Parker put the bottle down and blew on her cut to ease the pain. He was incredibly gentle and caring; it made her wonder what he would be like if he was a dad. Once that thought crossed her mind, she chastised herself for being a crazy lunatic and thinking about a future she had no right to think about. They’d had one kiss, that was it, but in Margo’s head, she was married and having kids with Parker, apparently. She had officially become a neurotic woman.

  “There, that wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Parker asked, as he rubbed Margo’s leg in a tender way, not an I’m-trying-to-feel-you-up kind of way, although secretly Margo wanted the latter.

  “No, not too bad,” Margo returned a small smile.

  “If you weren’t trying to be such a show off, this never would have happened.”

  Rolling her eyes at the man in front of her, Margo thought about the minute she slid into second after she hit the hell out of the ball off of Parker; there was no reason for her to slide, but she missed the feel so she went for it. The only bad thing was, she completely forgot she was wearing short shorts, so she’d scraped up her knee pretty good and she could feel a giant bruise starting to form on the back of her thigh. She was going to be hurting tomorrow.

  “You liked it,” Margo joked.

  “I did,” he admitted, as he finished cleaning her up and applying a giant Band-Aid, making sure it stuck properly. “Now that you’re all bandaged up, how about we get some ice on your leg.”

  “I don’t need ice,” Margo said, as she sprang from her seat, but winced at the pain that went through the back of her leg and sat back down.

  “Yeah, okay, Superman. Up you go.” In one swift movement, Parker picked Margo up as if she weighed absolutely nothing.

  “You don’t have to go carrying me around everywhere. I’m not an invalid, plus I can’t be the lightest thing with the size of my ass.”

  Parker smirked and said, “I happen to like that ass, which is a perfect size if you ask me.”

  Heat crept through Margo’s body at Parker’s compliment. She was part Latina and was blessed with the ass to show it, which normally would be a good thing, but when it came to finding pants, it was almost impossible since her waist was much smaller. She normally had to get her pants taken in, which was a big clothing disadvantage, since she wasn’t the highest paid employee at the animal shelter.

  Parker set her down on the couch, went to the kitchen and made two ice bags. When he came back, he had a huge smile on his face and she had no clue why.

  “Why are you grinning like that?”

  Sitting down next to her and draping her legs over his, he said, “I get to play sexy nurse Parker.”

  “Oh, Jesus.” The man was impossible.

  “Now roll over for a second.”

  “Why?”

  “Don’t question the nurse,” Parker playfully scolded.

  “How come my nurse isn’t wearing a sexy nurse outfit? I think I’m getting
screwed.”

  Parker snapped his fingers. “You’re right, my apologies.” He stood up and rolled his shorts up, showing off his muscular thighs that were actually rather impressive and then took the bottom of his shirt and threaded it through his collar, giving her a spectacular view of his perfect abs, but covering his well-defined pecs. Margo tried not to stare, but she couldn’t help herself…Major League Baseball had served him well. He had always been an athletic specimen in college, but now that he was in the big leagues…holy fuck!

  Swallowing hard, Margo watched as Parker showed off his body, flexing and dipping for her pleasure. “Is this better?”

  Giggling and shaking her head at him, she said, “Yes, much better.”

  “Good, now flip over.”

  Reluctantly, Margo turned over and gave Parker a great view of her ass. She knew she shouldn’t feel self-conscious, but she did…it was Parker, her age old crush, for crying out loud.

  Parker winced as he looked down at her and then his face turned to concern. “Mo, you did a number on your thigh. It’s already purple. Here, I’m going to put the ice pack under you and I want you to roll over so you’re sitting on the ice, okay?”

  “Is it really that bad?”

  “It is, babe.”

  The term of endearment melted her on the spot as a wave of heat continued to flow through her body. The change in their relationship was almost too much to handle and, at times, she thought she needed to back away because they lived across the country from each other, but when he looked at her like she was the last woman he ever wanted to be with, she couldn’t help it.

  Once Parker put ice on her throbbing thigh and then on top of her knee, he settled once again under her legs and turned on some light music. He ran his hand up and down her leg as he talked to her. It was an innocent touch to him, but it was an all-encompassing touch to her. It was like his fingers were the fuel that was lighting the raging inferno that was taking place inside of her. He sat next to her, casually talking about baseball, in his ridiculous get-up, not caring that he looked stupid. When he laughed, Margo took note of the way his stomach muscles contracted and when he moved his hands up and down her legs, she watched the fine sinew of his forearms flex with his movements. To say she was checking him out was an understatement.