by Pamela Yaye
Will pressed his forehead to hers. His voice lowered. “You’ve seen parts of me no one else has ever seen. Just because I’ve been blind in the past doesn’t mean I am now. I see you. The smart, determined, take-no-prisoners woman you are. That’s the woman I want.”
Erin shook her head. Her heart wanted to believe him. Her head fought back. The guy she’d secretly had a crush on for years couldn’t possibly mean what he was saying.
“Will, I don’t want to be a fling,” she said softly but firmly. “You can’t just walk away when things get tough.”
He lifted his head and met her eyes unflinchingly. “I was wrong for not waking you before I left, but the only reason I walked away last time was because of the team meeting. We’re on lockdown. I should be back at the hotel now, but I had to see you. I had to know you were okay. I had to be sure that asshole didn’t break your heart.”
She looked into his dark eyes. “He isn’t the one capable of hurting me.”
The same determination she’d seen in his face before an important game filled his eyes. The look she knew meant he was ready to bring his A game. “I promise I won’t break your heart.”
She pressed her hands against his chest. She should push him away. This was Will. Just as she knew parts of him hidden from the world, he knew parts of her. He could hurt her so much more than anyone like Jared ever could. Walking away right now would be the smartest thing.
Her fingers curled into the material of his shirt. “I want to believe you,” she whispered.
His heart pounded beneath the muscle of his chest. Tension seeped out of his body, as if he’d been waiting anxiously for what she would say next. “Then let me show you that you can believe me. Let me try to be the man you deserve.”
Her head jerked up. Hope and fear swirled inside her. He kissed her before she could say anything else.
His kiss thoroughly sucked the air from her lungs. Her hands clung first to his shirt before flying up to wrap around his neck. Her heart sprinted with each sexy sweep of his tongue. Will’s hand plunged into her hair; the other played along the taut muscles of her back. Time meant nothing. Getting caught by the workers at the club meant nothing. The only things she was aware of were the heat of his body, the yearning in her veins and the possessive way his hands held her.
The hand on her back gripped a handful of her dress. Cool air brushed the back of her legs as the hemline rose. Erin wanted the dress off. Wanted to feel his naked body hot against hers. Wrap her hands around the hard length of him and relive all of the pleasure he’d given her that one brief night. The press of his erection against her belly proved he felt the same. The urgency of his kiss was just as hot and desperate as hers.
His hold on her hair tightened just enough to send a rush of excitement through her. He slowly pulled her head back, then ran light kisses across her jaw. “Come back to my hotel.”
The low rumble of his voice made her body tremble. Her chin lifted and lowered automatically. The need to be back in his bed drowned out every other thought in her head. Her breasts ached. Her sex throbbed. She wanted to drag him to the floor and get the edge off right now.
Reality hit right then like a fifty-mile-an-hour car collision. She was ready, after just a few minutes, to jump in bed with him again. If she went to his room she’d be right back where she was a month ago. Did she want that? Yes. Did she believe him? Kinda. Was she ready to trust him?
She shook her head. “No.”
Will’s kisses stilled. He raised his head and met her eye. “Why not?” No accusation or anger. Curiosity and the same sexual frustration she fought colored his tone instead.
“I need time to think. Time to process. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“Stop thinking about what’s supposed to happen and think about what you want to happen.”
Another image of him dragging her to the floor. Or pressing her against the wall. Then there was the back seat of the car.
Erin shook her head and scrambled out of his arms. Will’s hands slowly released her. “I want to believe you,” she said. “I want to think you’re really ready for a relationship because, Will, I’m a relationship type of woman. I’m not asking you for marriage or forever, but I am asking you for a commitment, monogamy, honesty.” He opened his mouth and she covered whatever he was about to say with her hand. “You need to think about this, too. You might think you’re ready, but you need to be sure this is what you want. Even if we’re only together for a short time. For that time, I’ve got to be the only one. You can’t lie to me. Make sure that’s what you want, too.”
His body relaxed. She dropped her hand. His brows drew together. She saw the battle in his eyes: automatically say what she wanted to hear against the realization that this time there would be more of a commitment than the “no turning back” they’d stated before. She’d made him really think about what she was asking him to do, which meant she was right to have stopped him.
Tell that to her body, still buzzing with the need to say yes and follow him to his hotel room.
“If you really mean what you say, then call me tomorrow.” Erin slipped around him and pushed open the door. “Otherwise, let’s just pretend none of this ever happened.”
Chapter 9
Will had exactly ninety minutes before he had to be back at the stadium to prep for the All-Star Game. As the elected leader of the team he couldn’t be late, and had reiterated their coach’s advice to spend the time between practice and the game relaxing, meditating or sleeping in order to be ready. Instead, he’d hired a car and was on a mission.
He was going to check on Erin.
He’d tried calling her, but not surprising, she hadn’t answered. He’d gone by one of the Mountain Brewed sponsored events, but she’d put one of her employees in charge. Jared was nowhere to be seen. When he’d called Kelly to low-key investigate what Erin was up to, his chatty sister hadn’t disappointed him. She’d said Erin wasn’t feeling good after the night before and had stayed in her room.
Immediately concerned, Will was going to make sure she was okay. He’d thought about what she said. Any other time, any other woman, he would have moved on. A woman putting a claim on him wasn’t something he went for. There were too many women and too much fun to be had to be nailed down with just one, but being nailed down by Erin did not make him want to skip out early on the relationship. The second she’d said what it would take to be with her, he’d known he wanted to try.
How hard could a relationship be anyway? If you were into the person, then being with them should be easy. They’d talk, have sex, have fun hanging out with each other. A relationship would be like their night in Chicago except instead of just for a night it would be like that every day. What could possibly go wrong?
He was going to ace this boyfriend thing. He got out of the car and bounded into Erin’s hotel. Kelly let it slip where Erin was staying, but he didn’t have her room number. He tried to work his magic at the front desk, but the hotel clerk refused to give him Erin’s room number.
“I’m sorry, sir, but we do not give out our guest’s room numbers. You are not listed as one of the guests staying in the room.”
Will gave the woman one of his signature smiles. “Yes, Ebony, I understand,” he said, using the name on the tag pinned to her uniform. “But I’ve got to talk to her about this party they’re doing for us.”
Ebony shook her head. “I can’t go against policy. I could lose my job.”
He had no argument for that. He wasn’t going to ask her to risk her job. “Give me a second. Let me try to call her again.” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Erin’s number.
He didn’t expect an answer. She’d been ignoring his calls and texts ever since she’d believed he’d lied to her. So when she did answer on the second ring he was momentarily stunned into silence.
“Hello? Will?”
He sn
apped out of his shocked surprise. “Erin, what’s your room number?”
“Why?”
“Because the lady at the counter won’t give it to me.” He smiled at Ebony, whose scowl softened from frustrated to mildly annoyed.
“You’re here? At my hotel?”
“Yes, so what room are you in?”
“Why are you here?”
“Kelly said you weren’t feeling well. I came to check on you.”
“To check on me?” She sounded skeptical.
“Yes, to check on you. Now I’ve only got ninety minutes.” He looked at his watch. “More like seventy-five. Will you let me know your room number so we can talk?”
She hesitated again. He worried she wouldn’t agree to see him. “If you don’t I’m just going to knock on every door in this hotel until I find you.”
Ebony opened her mouth to argue. Will put a finger to his lips and shook his head.
Erin sighed. “Fine. I’m in room five fifty-three.”
“I’ll be right up.” He hung up the phone and grinned at Ebony. “I was only teasing.” Kinda. He winked, then hurried to the elevator.
His heart pumped furiously as the elevator made its ascent. What was wrong with him? Why was he getting nervous about seeing Erin? He’d dated before. Dated exclusively a couple of times; this wasn’t any different.
Except it was completely different. Before, he’d known when things wound down he’d be able to charm his way out of the relationship and still keep the woman as a friend. With Erin, if things wound down, what would their relationship be like afterward? If he screwed this up, would he lose her in his life completely, and worse, would his sister lose a best friend?
“Then don’t screw this up,” he muttered as the elevator doors opened and he made his way down the carpeted hall to Erin’s room.
Let things play out. Wait and see, and if things started to waver, he’d do what he always did—maneuver the situation so the woman broke things off with him. He’d never cheated or become an asshole, he just knew how to subtly become emotionally unavailable until the woman decided to move on. He then accepted the breakup amicably and they remained friends. Except the idea of manipulating Erin made his stomach churn.
He knocked on her room door. It swung open immediately. Erin stood on the other side, dressed in gray sweats that tapered at her trim ankles and hugged her hips. A fitted Mountain Brewed T-shirt clung to her full breasts and slim waist. She’d pulled her thick hair out of her face with a colorful scarf. The rest of her hair hung loose to her shoulders. No makeup that he could tell. She was absolutely delicious.
“Hey,” she said hesitantly.
Her eyes met his. Questioned what he wanted. Why was he there? One wrong word and he knew she’d turn him away.
“Can I come in?”
She licked her full lips before stepping back. “Sure.”
Will entered and waited while she closed the door. Her room was actually a one-bedroom suite. Her laptop and files of papers were spread on the table next to the mini kitchen. Through a door he could see her unmade bed. His dick tightened with the thought of lying with her on those sheets. He turned away from the bedroom.
This was not about sex. The sex was outstanding, but he didn’t want her to think that was all he was interested in.
“So, what’s up?” she asked. She stood in front of the television. Away from him. Old reruns of the sitcom Martin played in the background. The volume up enough to hear but not loud enough to distract from their conversation.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. I just had a headache. All the noise, smoke and...stuff from the night before.”
“I was worried about you.”
“No need. I’m working.” She pointed to the papers on the table. “And planned to still make it to the game tonight.”
“Good.” He rubbed his hands together. Nervous in an unfamiliar way as they inched closer to what he’d come here to say. “I’d like for you to have the reserved seats I set aside for family.”
“Isn’t your family going to have those seats?”
“Yes, but come on, you’re practically family.”
Something flickered in her eyes. She lowered them before he could make out what. “I am, I guess. Don’t worry about me. I have seats with Mountain Brewed.”
To hell with sitting with her client. Didn’t she understand what he was saying? No other woman had sat with his family at one of his games. “I’d like for you to sit with my family.”
“Why?”
He took a deep breath. Planted his feet so that he wouldn’t shuffle from one to the other like a scared kid. “I thought about what you said last night, and I’m in.”
“You’re...in?” She crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up.
Will nodded. “Yes. All in. Relationship, monogamy, the whole deal. Let’s do this.”
The excitement, joy, jubilation he’d expected didn’t come. Instead she eyed him as if he’d just ordered a burger at a pizza parlor.
“Have you thought this through? I mean, you aren’t really known for the serious relationships you’ve had.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t be serious when it counts. And Erin, you count.” He walked over and uncrossed her arms. He laced their fingers together. “I can’t get you out of my mind. I’ve been out there. I’ve played the field. I don’t want to play anymore. I want to grow up, and I’d like to grow up with you.”
“What about Kelly? She doesn’t want us together.”
He didn’t give a damn about what his sister wanted. Kelly had nothing to do with this, but he understood her concern. Kelly was her best friend. “Kelly only said that because she thinks I’ll hurt you.”
“Will you hurt me?”
Will tugged on their joined hands until she came closer. “I promise I’ll never hurt you. I only want to make you laugh. I never want to make you cry.”
Her eyes softened along with her body. Her brows drew together. He could see the fight on her face. Two sides of her in open combat. One telling her to believe him, the other ready to run and hide. He didn’t give the latter a chance to counter.
He lowered his head and kissed her, and her soft lips parted and welcomed him in. A tremor, fast and unexpected, racked his body. He felt shaken and freed all in one. When her arms inched up around his neck and her body pressed into his, he was lost.
He didn’t want to act as if he were starving for her. But the urgency to have her in his arms pushed for release like a Black Friday mob. She teased him with sweet, soft sweeps of her tongue and drove him mad with the low feminine noises she made, as if he was just as addictive to her. He wanted to throw her over his shoulder, carry her into the next room, rip off her clothes and really make a mess of the sheets on that king-size bed.
He wasn’t that guy. He couldn’t lose his cool. Couldn’t let her know how much she drove him crazy. She pushed her hips forward against the stiff rod of his erection. Will’s control snapped.
Reaching down, he lifted her into his arms. She let out a little yelp of surprise. His mouth covered hers in a scorching kiss, and he marched straight for the bedroom.
* * *
Will’s hands never left her body. Erin closed her eyes and savored every caress. They undressed quickly. Clothes flying to random corners of the room. He turned her to face the bed, swept the hair over her shoulders and ran soft kisses down the side of her neck.
Erin’s head fell to one side. Pleasure took over every other sense. She didn’t want to overthink this. Didn’t want to focus on what she should do when she knew what her body wanted to do. What her heart wanted to do.
Will’s large hands cupped her breasts. With slow, sensual strokes he circled her nipples with the tips of his fingers. Making them hard, aching points. Erin’s lungs struggled to suck in air. She pushed her ch
est forward. Silently begging for more.
The soft bite of Will’s teeth on her neck came when he finally gently pinched the tips of her breasts. Erin’s body shook. Her knees edged out until her legs were spread.
“Touch me,” she whispered.
“I am touching you.” Will’s deep sensual voice in her ear. He ran his tongue across the outer edge.
Erin’s fingers dug into his thigh. “Please.”
One hand left her breast and trailed down her body to gently part the slick folds of her sex. “Like this?”
“I hate you.”
His fingers slid easily across her wet heat. “Doesn’t feel like you hate me.”
One long finger pushed deep into her. Erin’s mouth fell open. Her hips undulated back and forth. Grinding on his fingers in tandem with the teasing pulls of his fingers on her breasts. Will kissed along her neck. Softly pulled on her ear with his teeth. Pushed forward so she felt just how much he enjoyed what he was doing to her.
She shattered much too soon. Pleasure and loss sweeping through her. She wanted more than what he’d given her, but she’d already begged once. With the shattering release came the realization of how easily he’d made her body melt in his arms.
She pulled out of his embrace and lay on her side facing away from him. Was this what it was going to be like? Will kissed her, touched her, and she became dough he could shape into whatever he needed?
He slid up behind her. His body solid and warm behind hers. Without a word, he gently pushed her onto her back. Erin kept her eyes lowered. Unsure even with herself what she felt in this moment.
His lead lowered, and he kissed her slowly, hesitantly. When he broke the kiss, they both were breathing heavily. Will rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. She lifted her lids and met his dark gaze.
“I’m not going anywhere. I meant what I said. Trust me. Please.”