The game went very well. We scored from the start. The team played as a unit, communication was perfect, and it was one of those days where everything just worked. The team got along, and it flowed. I tried not to think that it was because Markus wasn’t here. It wasn’t fair to accuse one person of creating that much friction that it affected our total gameplay, but the coincidence seemed too great.
We won the game. It felt amazing, and the other team members praised me just as much as they praised each other. For the first time since I’d arrived, I didn’t feel like an outsider or a liability. I felt like a Florida Shark.
“We have to celebrate,” Brian said in the locker room when we were getting ready to shower.
“Way ahead of you, bro,” Hanson said. “I already called Edge and made reservations. I knew this one was in the bag.”
Brian and Hanson high-fived.
“You’re included,” Brian said, turning to me.
Hanson nodded. “Yep, I counted you with our party.”
“Really?”
I was surprised. The guys were being great about me being a part of the team. I was also staying at the Four Seasons, the five-star hotel where Edge Restaurant was situated, but being included in the reservation as a given was an amazing feeling.
“Can we count on you?” Brian asked.
I nodded. The question held so much more.
“I’m in,” I said. And I was. I was starting to realize these guys had my back, and they could count on me for the same.
“The reservation is for eight,” Hanson said. “We’ll meet you there. Brian and I are taking our ladies out shopping first.”
Brian grinned. “New town, new shopping experience.”
I tried not to pay attention to my jealousy. They were lucky to have women they cared about. And who cared about them. Being with Marisa had made me feel like I was on top of the world, so I knew what it was like to be with someone who made you her whole world.
Then she’d cheated on me, and because of her, I had an assault charge on my name. That shit wasn’t going to go away, the same as the broken trust and a broken heart doesn’t go away. The pain that had come with being with someone like Marisa was bigger than the bliss had been. It was why I was single right now, but the idea of having someone to spoil, someone who would support me, the relationships Brian and Hanson had, I envied it.
I thought of Kina. She was the kind of person I could have that with, I was sure. I liked it when she asked about my life, when she cared. She listened when I spoke about my sport, my passion, which was something Marisa had stopped doing toward the end. The signs had been there, and I’d been too stupid to see them.
But with Kina, it was different. She didn’t even need to care about my life. We had a business relationship. Sort of. She didn’t have to ask about my personal life and get to know me on that level.
The fact that she did made me feel important. And I liked that. I also liked getting to know her, learning about her life. Knowing someone more than other people did was a privilege, and I felt like she let me into a life not many people saw.
She wasn’t my girlfriend, I told myself, and she probably wouldn’t ever be. I had to stop thinking about her that way. She was my PR manager, and that was how it should stay. But having someone like her on my arm in a city like this was a fantasy I’d entertained for a while.
There was nothing wrong with letting the fantasy linger for as long as possible. It didn’t mean I had to give my heart to her. Did it?
Chapter 22 – Jacob
I went to the hotel after I got showered and dressed. The hotel was amazing; my room beautiful with light parquet floors, a white bed and full-length windows that looked out over Denver. As a pro player, I was used to money and luxury, but I tried to stay objective, to see the good and the beauty in everything instead of just assuming it was there for the taking.
When it was time to get ready, I put on a suit. Edge was a classy restaurant, suiting the hotel, and the others would be dressed up, too. The suit was a navy blue, and I had a shirt and tie that matched perfectly. With shiny black shoes, I looked handsome. My body filled out the suit. Being muscled was a perk of being this active in a sport that was so physically taxing.
It was a pity Kina wasn’t here to see me.
At the restaurant, Hanson and Brian were waiting for me with the women in their lives. Lacey was fiery with short black hair and a bright green dress. Her eyes were a piercing blue. Sadie had black hair and a red dress that made her look invitingly dangerous, and both women clung to their men’s arms. I greeted them, and we were taken to our seats by the maître ‘d.
Edge was a chic version of a steakhouse, decorated with wooden accents, a light wood floor and golden lighting set into a modern ceiling. The wooden tables were polished within an inch of their lives and beige leather armchairs completed the picture.
Delicious smells hung in the air. We moved between the tables and eyes flicked to us. People leaned forward and whispered to each other when they realized who we were. Being famous for the right reasons was just a welcome change.
The table was set for six. I frowned and looked Hanson. “Why did you make a reservation for six?” I asked. “Who’s the last chair for?”
“It’s for me,” a voice behind me said and when I turned around, Kina stood in front of me.
She looked amazing in a figure-hugging white wrap dress, her light blonde curls pinned onto her head. She smiled at me with lips that were a dark wine red. I wanted to pick her up, throw her over my shoulders and go charging to my hotel room to make sweet love to her. But then she would have gotten all dolled up for no reason.
“You’re here,” I said.
She nodded. I leaned down and hugged her before I pulled her chair out for her and helped her sit down. I sat down next to her.
I couldn’t believe she was here, looking like a vision. She was dressed to kill, and she looked comfortable in her surroundings. She fit into this world, too. I had thought that from the start. She might have taken me to a very laidback restaurant to talk the first time, but I wanted to make her a part of my world.
I had to be careful. I was thinking too much like she was mine, and she wasn’t.
“It’s not every day you see a player being escorted by his PR manager,” Brian joked.
Kina smiled. “Someone had to keep him out of trouble.”
We all laughed.
“I feel you,” Lacey said. “I should have done that with Hanson. It would have saved me a lot of heartache.”
Hanson looked embarrassed. Kina and Lacey laughed together. They were good friends. It was apparent now. Women had bonds in a different way than men had.
“What if she’s here to commend me on my good behavior?” I asked.
Kina smiled at me, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “Your behavior would have to be commendable for that, honey. It’s not.”
Lacey and Kina laughed together. Sadie was grinning, too. The two men cried out and laughed at me.
“You two look like such a couple,” Sadie said.
I froze. Kina looked down at her place.
“You really do,” Brian agreed with his girlfriend.
“We’re not, though,” Kina said. Well, wasn’t that a great reminder.
Brian shrugged. “We’re just saying. We saw how you two lit up when you saw each other. Don’t even try to deny it.”
I glanced at Kina. She was smiling politely, but she’d switched off. I knew she didn’t want a relationship. It was very clear, now, in case I hadn’t been sure before. But that was okay. I wasn’t sure I would manage in a relationship again, anyway. Sleeping with her was plenty without having to worry about loyalty and fidelity and all that shit.
“How was the game?” Kina asked, and I was glad about the change in subject. I explained to her about the game, how well we’d all played.
“Jacob was great,” Brian said. “He really played like a true Shark today.”
“Thanks, man,” I
said to Brian.
“Yeah, great effort,” Hanson said. “Markus is full of shit, doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
“What do you mean?” Kina asked Hanson.
I rolled my eyes. “Markus and some of the other players were going on about how my first preseason game hadn’t proved my worth because it was with a team of third stringers.” I shrugged. That was long gone. Markus hadn’t even played with the team tonight, and I’d been on the field all the way through. And we’d won. He could suck it.
“What is his problem?” Kina asked, looking at Hanson and Brian.
The two guys looked at each other and shrugged.
“There are rumors of a transfer,” Brian said. “He’s sour about that, but he’s just a bit of dick in general.”
“Yeah, we’ve never gotten along with him,” Hanson added.
Kina nodded and looked at me. “Well, whatever he does next, I’m sure we can handle it.”
Hanson grinned. “You never know which charity will help you out next.” He winked at me.
I shook my head, laughing. Hanson knew that I’d slept with Kina. I wasn’t sure if he’d told Brian—I hadn’t asked him not to—but I knew he would keep it a secret from everyone else. He also knew I hadn’t been talking about charities that night, that the only thing we’d been going over was each other.
Kina blushed. She knew that the boys knew, I guess assuming men always talked to each other about things like this. She didn’t seem to mind too much if they did know. When she glanced at me, her eyes were hungry. I knew what she was thinking. I wanted it, too. I was thinking the same thing.
That dress was beautiful on her, but it would look so much better on the floor of my hotel room.
Chapter 23 – Kina
I had too much wine. I wasn’t very good with alcohol as a rule. I was classified as a cheap date because it took almost no effort to get me drunk. Apart from the very occasional nights out that I had with Lacey, I barely touched alcohol.
Which meant that after my third glass of wine at Edge, I was feeling very well lubricated. I felt like my veins were filled with bubbles, my head was light and airy, and Jacob was attractive to me in every way. And I had forgotten why it was a bad idea to be with him. That should have been enough to let me know I’d had too much.
Jacob kept touching me at dinner. Whether he touched my arm because he was laughing at a joke, touching my shoulder to draw attention, or sneaking touches underneath the tablecloth, Jacob was very aware of my body and how close I sat to him.
And I was aware of it, too. He’d put on cologne, a new scent I hadn’t smelled on him before, and it was more intoxicating than the wine in my system. It made me want him. I was aware of my body, the thin material of the dress like a second skin against my body, how low my neckline dipped, how high the slit ran.
I wanted Jacob, and I wanted him, now.
When dinner was finally over, Jacob held his arm for me. I was grateful. My balance was questionable on my heels with the alcohol in my system, and I wanted the excuse to touch him. We hugged the others, saying our goodbyes before the four of them went out. They wanted to party.
“Can I walk you to your room?” Jacob asked.
I nodded. “Such a gentleman,” I said.
“A lady like you deserves an escort.”
I smiled, and we walked to the elevator. My room was on the fifth floor. We were alone in the elevator, and the atmosphere was charged. I wanted to get Jacob out of his clothes. I wanted him to touch me. The skin on my breasts, between my legs, ached for touch. I wanted him to put his hands on me, to kiss me everywhere.
The door slid open on the fifth floor, and I held onto Jacob again. We walked to my door.
“I’m so glad you came,” Jacob said.
I smiled. “Like I said, I had to keep you out of trouble.”
Jacob smiled. “Or get me in trouble.” His eyes trailed to my lips, and it made me look at his lips, too.
I was the one who closed the distance between us, kissing him. I fiddled with the door, getting it open, and I pulled Jacob inside with me. I wasn’t usually this forward, but I’d had wine, and I wanted him. I couldn’t help it.
Jacob didn’t fight me on it, either. He went with me, pushing me up against the door as soon as it swung shut. He pinned me with his body, and I could feel his erection, how eager he was to have me. He felt the same as I did, apparently.
“You’re so hot,” Jacob mumbled between kisses. “Your dress is fantastic.”
As he said it, he tugged at it, trying to get it off me. I reached for the zipper at the side and pulled it down, helping Jacob. Men never understood clothing. There was a reason they resorted to ripping. I didn’t have the patience tonight to wait for Jacob to figure it out.
With my dress half open, he could do the rest, and he helped me out of my dress. He dropped it on the floor to the side, and I stood in front of him in white lace underwear, a bra and panties to match. Jacob stopped kissing me and leaned back a little to take in the sight of me.
“Fuck, Kina,” he said.
I smiled at him. His hands went to my breasts like they were magnets, and he squeezed them, rubbing his thumbs over my nipples. I gasped and reached behind me to undo my bra.
It joined my dress on the floor. Jacob dipped his head and took my nipple into his mouth. He sucked on me, licking, nibbling. I ran my fingers through his short, blond hair, his head moving under my hands. One of his hands moved down between my legs, and he rubbed my pussy through the material. The friction of the material, rougher than his fingertips on my clit, had me gasping and moaning.
Jacob kissed me again. I peeled the blazer from his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. I unbuttoned his shirt while he groped my body and undid his buckle. He unzipped his pants himself and pulled them down, kicking off his shoes.
His cock was hard in his jocks, straining against the material toward me.
When he pushed up against me again, the thin material of his underwear and the lace of mine were the only things keeping us from each other.
Jacob led me to my bed. He laid me down on my back and pulled down his own jocks before he pulled down my panties. We were naked together. I was wet, eager to have him inside of me, and he didn’t waste time with more foreplay. We didn’t need it.
Jacob crawled over me onto the bed, and my thighs fell open for him. He put on a condom and then pushed his dick into me, and it was thick and smooth, splitting me open until my body accommodated him.
When he was inside of me, he looked me in the eyes and shivered. I wrapped my legs around his thighs, and he started moving back and forth, rocking against me. His cock pushed deep inside of me, pushing in all the right places. The wine had loosened me up, brought me to a place where I could let go of all control.
“That’s it,” Jacob said, as he pulled me into a doggy style position on the bed. “That’s how I want you to be.”
I enjoyed how he dominated me, making it so that his wish was my command. He entered me from behind with his huge cock, while spanking my ass where he could see it nice and up close.
“You’re so bad, yet you’re so good to me,” he said, squeezing and spanking me as I groaned.
Jacob fucked me harder and harder, pumping into me, and in no time at all, I orgasmed. I knew he could hold out. He would fuck me for a long time, changing positions, doing me from every angle, making me orgasm a few more times before he finally let go himself.
By the time we were done, it was in the early hours of the morning.
“Stay?” I asked.
Jacob shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, with the paparazzi and all.”
I nodded. He was making sense. I watched him as he looked for his clothes, getting dressed again.
“I’ll talk to you soon, sweetheart,” he said.
I nodded. He slipped out of the door, closing it quietly behind him.
I cuddled back onto the pillows, my body spent, the feeling from Jacob
between my legs throbbing with a delicious ache, a reminder that what we’d done would last a while. What was I doing?
I pushed the question away. I could worry about that tomorrow. Right now, sleep sounded more than enticing, and I closed my eyes, letting the darkness drag me under.
I woke up to my phone ringing with a shrill sound that bore into my temples. I groaned and reached for it on the nightstand. When I couldn’t find it, groping the smooth surface for a moment, I realized it was on the floor close to the bathroom door.
When I got out of bed my head ached dully and I cursed under my breath. A hangover? I couldn’t remember when I’d had enough to drink for one of those.
I pressed the talk button to silence the damn thing and held the phone against my ear.
“You might want to check the tabloids,” Lacey said in a serious voice.
“What’s happened?” I asked.
“You.”
I didn’t know what she was saying.
“Let me get back to you,” I said and hung up.
What the hell was she talking about? When I looked at the screen, the notifications for the tabloids I’d followed were on the screen. I hadn’t heard them while I’d been asleep. I opened the first one, and my heart stopped.
They were photos of me and Jacob kissing in front of my door. There was another of him sneaking out of my room, his shirt still undone shoes in hand. Dammit, there were cameras in these corridors, and someone had leaked it to the press.
Which meant that the whole world knew now that Jacob and I were fucking. And I’d been so damned proud of him for coming up with a strategy to stop the world from finding out.
Shit.
I’d messed it all up, now.
I dialed Jacob’s number. He answered on the first ring.
“I saw,” he said grimly. “This is bullshit. Fuck fame.”
“Calm down,” I said. “I’m sure we can work this out.” But not even I believed the words I spoke. We were in trouble now. And Jacob knew it. I knew it. We couldn’t exactly paint this in a different light. Not with us sucking face in front of my door and not with his shirt unbuttoned and his shoes off. What were we going to say? That we were discussing strategies? Yeah, strategies about how to get him into my panties would be the only answer.
Hold Onto Me_A Secret Baby Romance Page 116