Theo understood where Torrian was coming from, but it still didn’t help his mood. He suffered through two more uncomfortable, stilted interviews with former teammates who were now treating him as if he were Judas’s twin brother. By early afternoon, Theo was ready to say to hell with them all.
The Sports Talk TV crew had just finished setting up the booth where a portion of one of the network’s popular afternoon shows, Gridiron Action, would broadcast live. Theo was scheduled to join them for four minutes in the first segment.
Several players milled about as the live broadcast began. Theo noticed Torrian standing just outside the camera shot.
Dan Bates gave Theo a plastic smile before he began. “Theo, you shocked quite a few people last week when you chose your ex-teammate, Cedric Reeves, as the player who should be ‘sacked.’ Now that Cedric has been named the starting running back for the NFC’s team in this year’s Pro Bowl, do you still feel the same way?”
Sweat instantly broke out across Theo’s brow. He coughed, not so much to clear his throat as to give himself a few extra seconds to think this through. He engaged in a quick and dirty mental debate before coming to the conclusion he knew was the only one he could make and still face himself in the mirror.
A throbbing ache settled in his chest. With just a few simple words, all the ugliness that had passed between him and Cedric this week would come to an end, but he just could not do it. It wasn’t even a matter of choosing a desk job over his friend. This was about his credibility. He could not say something on camera that he didn’t mean.
Theo looked from his colleague to the camera.
“Dan, as much as I respect the body of work Cedric Reeves put together this season, if the decision were mine to make, I would have chosen Demarco Lewis from the Cincinnati Bengals to start in this Sunday’s game.”
He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw when Torrian dropped his head. Theo’s stomach dropped along with it, but he’d had no other choice.
The rest of Media Day was a lesson in fortitude. Theo had no idea grown men could be so petty. He’d committed the ultimate sin by choosing a running back from a long-time Sabers’ rival as his choice over Cedric, and his former teammates had done an outstanding job of letting Theo know exactly how they felt about it.
Torrian came up to him and clamped a hand on his back. “You okay, man?” he asked.
“You sure you want to be seen with me?” Theo asked. “My repugnance may rub off on you.”
“The guys are still angry, but they’ll get over it. All of them will get over it, including Cedric.” Torrian squeezed his shoulder. “I need to head back to the hotel. I’d offer to buy you a drink, but I promised Paige we’d have a date night for just the two of us.”
“Go take care of your wife,” Theo said. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Theo made his way to the exit. He held the door open for one of the equipment managers pushing a rack of footballs before walking outside.
“Are you jealous or something?” came a disgusted voice just over his shoulder.
Theo’s eyes slid shut and the headache that had been threatening at the base of his skull mushroomed like a nuclear bomb cloud.
Cedric came around to face him. “Is that it?” he asked. Several people milling outside the entrance to the athletic facility stared openly at them.
“Can we take this somewhere else?” Theo asked.
“You only want an audience when you’re ragging on my playing skills, that it?”
Theo started walking away. Cedric followed.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Cedric sneered. “You’re jealous of me.”
Theo whipped around. “Exactly why would I be jealous of you getting the chance to play in the Pro Bowl, Ced? I’ve been here nine times. You have a long way to go before I’d have to be jealous of you.”
“Maybe it isn’t about the Pro Bowl at all. Maybe it’s because I’m still playing football and you’re not.”
Cedric’s taunt rubbed an already raw nerve.
“I made the decision to retire,” Theo bit out. “If I still wanted to play, I’d still be playing, and I can guarantee I would be right here in Hawaii playing with the rest of you.”
“Then what the hell is your problem with me being here?” The disappointment that flashed across Cedric’s face caused Theo’s chest to constrict. “You know how hard I’ve worked for this, Theo. Do you have any idea what it feels like to know that one of my best friends—my brother—doesn’t think I deserve to be here?”
Theo shook his head. He held his hand out. “I’m sorry, man. I don’t mean to hurt you by—”
“Really?” Cedric cut him off, looking at Theo’s extended hand as if it were poisoned. “Because it looks to me as if you’re having a fine time using me as your punching bag.”
“That’s not how it is and you know it, Cedric. If you would shut up for more than a minute, I can explain why I don’t think you deserve the starting job.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Let me hear it, because up to now, all you’ve said is that I’m not good enough.”
“I never said you weren’t good, but dammit, Cedric, there were players who were better than you this year,” Theo spat. “There. I said it. There are guys out there who are better on the field than Cedric Reeves. So, no, I don’t think you should be starting in the game. If it were up to me, you wouldn’t even be in Hawaii, you would be back at home, watching the game on television like dozens of other running backs. That what you wanted me to say?”
“No,” Cedric bit out, his jaw set in stone. “I wanted you to say that I earned my spot here after an entire season of busting my ass on the football field. Guess I just didn’t measure up to your standards.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, Cedric turned and headed back the way he’d come. Theo stood in that one spot for untold minutes, wondering if he would ever be able to mend the tear he’d caused in their friendship.
* * *
Deirdre was rubbing orchid-scented lotion on her legs when she heard the knock on her hotel room door. It could only be one person. She capped the lotion and tossed the bottle on the bed, hurrying to the door with such haste that she inwardly cringed at her barely concealed excitement.
But when she opened it her excitement morphed to concern. Theo looked as if someone had rolled over his dog, flatted the tires on his bicycle, and stolen his lunch money. All in the same day.
“What’s the matter?” Deirdre asked, motioning for him to come in.
His lumbering footsteps told the story of his day, and Deirdre’s heart flooded with sympathy. His brooding frown was the complete opposite of what she had hoped to see this evening, but she had expected him to be in a mood, especially after she heard about what happened behind the scenes at Media Day.
He fell into the room’s lone wicker chair. Deirdre came up behind him and started kneading his shoulders. “I heard you didn’t make many friends today.”
Theo huffed out a laugh. “Not only did I not make friends, but I lost a few.”
“You did what you had to do, Theo. Nobody can fault you for that.”
“Oh yeah? Why don’t you seek out a few of my former teammates and ask them where the fault lies? I’ve got a feeling you’ll get a different answer.”
He caught her by the wrist and tugged her around. “I don’t want to talk about Cedric or the Sabers or anything else,” he said. “I came here because I knew you could get my mind off of Media Day.” He pulled her closer, forcing her legs to straddle his lap.
He slid his palms over her hips, his strong fingers digging into her skin. It was that pleasurable pain that Deirdre figured turned on the people who were into the kinky stuff with whips and chains. She was not that kind of person. At least she’d never
considered it; but she’d discovered so many new things about herself this past week, who was to say a little spanking would be a bad thing?
A sexy grin spread across Theo’s face. “I think we should take this to the bed.”
As she stood, Theo leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her stomach. Deirdre instinctively pulled back, a bolt of self-consciousness threading through her. She had always prided herself on the fact that she was confident in her own skin, but it was impossible for her not to think about all the glamorous women Theo had been linked to for years. She could be confident when she was with an average man who was used to an average woman. There was nothing average about Thelonious Stokes, or the women he’d dated in the past.
Deirdre disengaged from his hold and moved to the vanity. “I thought we were going to dinner?” she asked.
“We can call up for room service.” Theo rose from the chair and stalked toward her. He caught her upper arms and pulled her back, flush against his front. The pressure of his pulsing erection hit the small of her back.
She looked at him through the mirror, still unable to fully believe the desire in his eyes was directed at her.
Deirdre sucked in an unsteady breath as Theo trailed his lips down her cheek, to her neck, then down to her shoulder. Her skin pebbled with goose bumps as he ran his hands up and down her arms, taking her hands in both of his and wrapping them around their bodies.
He gave her a squeeze before letting go of her hands and capturing the zipper at the back of her dress.
A flash of heat washed over her. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“I thought it was pretty obvious,” he replied.
“Theo, it’s six o’clock in the afternoon.”
“And?”
“And it’s still light out.”
“I can close the curtains.”
“It’ll still be light in here. I can’t do this with the lights on,” she said.
He barked out a laugh. “Deirdre, you did this in broad daylight yesterday.”
“Yes, but we were underwater.”
Theo hooked his thumb toward the tub. “You want me to run a bath?”
Deirdre just knew the blush on her face was getting redder by the minute. “Stop making fun of me,” she said.
“But this is funny. You’re worried about making love in a private hotel room when you had no problem doing it outside, where anyone could have found us.”
She gasped. “You said there was no chance anyone could disturb us yesterday.”
Theo shook his head. “I said the people who set up our lunch wouldn’t be there, but there could have been hikers out. We just got lucky.”
“Oh, my goodness! Theo! I cannot believe you let us do that yesterday knowing we could get caught.”
“But we didn’t get caught,” he said. “And once I hang the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door, we won’t get caught in here either.”
He leaned forward and kissed her neck, trailing his tongue along the column of her throat. “Come on, Deirdre. There’s nothing better than getting you naked and in bed to get my mind off the rough day I had.”
“Not right now,” she said. “Later, after dinner.”
“We can do it then, too,” he said, swooping in for another kiss, but she stopped him with a hand to his chest.
“No, I don’t…” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m a little self-conscious. Especially with you,” she tacked on. “I don’t want you to see me naked.”
Deirdre inwardly cringed, hating the insecurity that surged through her. She thought she had buried that awkward, unsure woman, but the lingering self-doubt came roaring back with a vengeance.
She pulled away from Theo and started unnecessarily straightening bottles on the vanity.
Theo stepped up behind her again. “Why would I make you self-conscious? We’ve known each other for years, Deirdre.”
“Exactly,” she said, looking at him through the mirror. She turned around to face him. “I’ve seen the women you’ve dated over the years, Theo, and I know I don’t stack up.”
He looked dumbfounded. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious. Take that woman in the bar the other night,” she said.
Theo expelled a tired sigh. “Somehow I knew you would find a way to bring that up.”
“Well, you were with her. And she was your typical—”
“She’s my producer,” he said, cutting her off.
Deirdre stopped short. “Oh.”
“But she did invite me up to her room,” Theo continued, knocking the air out of her.
Deirdre nodded and tried to swallow past the lump of discomfort in her throat. Trepidation skirted along her skin. She truly didn’t want to hear anymore.
“I turned her down,” Theo said.
He caught her chin in his fingers and lifted her head. Looking into her eyes, he said in a solemn voice, “I can’t change what I did in the past, Deirdre, or the women who will continue to come onto me. And they will. I’ve lived in this professional football world for over a dozen years. I know how things operate. But I also know what I want. You.
“Don’t allow that outside stuff to mess up what we have.” He ran his hands down her sides, letting them settle at her waist. “And why would you ever be self-conscious with me? Do you have any idea how good these curves look on you?”
She melted at the yearning she heard in his voice. Deirdre had never felt more desirable than she did at this very moment, knowing that Theo was turned on by her.
He captured her hands and brought them to his lips. “I am going to say this one time, and then I am never addressing this subject again. You have nothing to be self-conscious about. You are one of the sexiest, most attractive women I’ve ever seen. Even when I was dating those other girls, I wasn’t nearly as attracted to them as I am to you. And not just because I love this so much,” he said, bringing his hand around to clutch her butt. “It’s because of the person on the inside. You understand?”
She nodded.
“Good,” he smiled. “Now, will you please take off that dress and get in that bed? I’m ready to have my way with you. And, Deirdre.” He peered down at her with raised brows. “The lights are staying on.”
Chapter 11
Theo watched with a secret smile as Deidre got comfortable under the covers, then he stripped out of his clothes. She was still unsure of herself, but that was coming to an end tonight. He would show her just how much he wanted her. He had to. Theo knew if he didn’t erase her doubts, she would never give herself fully to him.
And he wanted all of her. Her body. Her heart.
Everything.
“Lay back,” he told her. She reclined on the pillows, her eyes already glazing over with desire. A slow grin spread across Theo’s lips. That’s how he liked to see her. “Now let go of this,” he urged, tugging at the bedding she’d tucked underneath her arms.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I want to see you.”
Panic struck her face. “I get it, Theo. You think I’m sexy. But I don’t think I’m ready for this.”
“Deirdre Smallwood, let go of this blanket,” Theo commanded.
“No. You’ll see my arms,” she said.
Theo stopped short. That one stumped him. “Why in the hell does it matter if I see your arms?”
“It just does,” she said. “I hate having my bare arms exposed.”
Theo barked out a laugh and he shook his head. “I swear, women worry about the craziest stuff. If you think I’m even remotely paying attention to your arms when you’re completely naked in front of me, you are out of your mind. Now, come on, Deirdre.” He pulled the cover, finally releasing it from her hold.
Theo’s breath hitched and his erection instantly hardened. He’d always been a breast man, something he never apologized for. There was nothing more gorgeous than a woman’s beautiful, round breasts, and Deirdre had some of the most luscious he’d ever feasted his eyes on.
He climbed in the bed and went straight for them, closing his mouth over one nipple while plucking the other between his fingers. She moaned, bowing her back and pushing her breast further into his mouth. Theo trailed his mouth from one soft mound to the other, then started on a slow trek down her abdomen, glorying in every soft, lush curve.
He kissed his way around her waist, nipping at her hip with his teeth before wedging his hand between her thighs and encouraging them to open. His mouth watered in anticipation as he closed his lips over her moist sex.
Every sexy pant and moan that came from Deirdre’s throat urged him further as he drove his tongue into her and sucked at the bud of pulsing nerves at her cleft. His erection throbbed, straining against the sheets, on the verge of exploding before he could get it inside of her.
Theo called on every bit of willpower he had to stave off the release his body was clamoring for. He made his way back up Deirdre’s body, hooking his arms under her knees and pushing her legs up. He wouldn’t be satisfied until they had a solid half hour of full-penetration sex.
He settled between her legs and slid inside of her, damn near dying at the pleasure that seized his entire body.
“Oh, God,” Deirdre moaned.
“I know,” he breathed, drawing almost completely out before sinking his full length deep within her again. They settled into a leisurely rhythm, their bodies coming together as if they had been doing this with each other for years.
Theo dipped his head down and sucked her nipple into his mouth again, circling it with his tongue until it stiffened into a tight knot. He slid out of her and turned Deirdre on her side.
She peered up at him over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
Pleasure Rush Page 13