On the Line

by Liz Lincoln

  On the way through the winding concrete corridors, Seth introduced her to three more players, including his good friend Lem Feu’u. Lem had played at Texas with Seth and Jason, so she’d heard about him over the years as well. She also met head coach Tom Kelsey and another coach.

  It didn’t escape Carrie that, with the exception of Lem, every man she met gave her an odd look when Seth introduced her as his nanny. As if they expected her to be his girlfriend or wife. After all, she had access to his house and was willing to swing by and drop off his tablet, and she was getting a tour of the stadium.

  Another entry in the “Carrie and Seth Playing House” column. Except that pesky part where she slept in a different bedroom.

  It was almost a relief when they got in the elevator to go up to the offices where the scouts resided. Except then the doors shut, and they were alone.

  In the enclosed space, Seth’s size became even more apparent. Carrie didn’t consider herself petite, being a little over average height and not fine-boned or skinny, but next to his linebacker body, she felt tiny. Maybe a little more feminine than her yoga pants and T-shirt warranted.

  She glanced up at him and caught him watching her. Immediately he looked away, his hand going to the back of his neck. Her heart hammered against her ribs but she didn’t say anything. What was there to say? Acknowledging their attraction wouldn’t make it go away any faster.

  *

  —

  Seth pulled his lips between his teeth, deliberately inflicting pain so he wouldn’t wince at the unnatural positions he was being forced into. Not only was his hip screaming, the pain shot down to his knee and up his back almost to his shoulder.

  “How’s that feel?” Tyler Branch, the trainer responsible for Seth’s current contortion, asked.

  With a grunt he tried to make sound positive, Seth nodded. If he stopped biting his lips and tried to speak, he’d end up yelling profanities at the guy. Because it really fucking hurt. Sweat popped up along his hairline and upper lip. At least his facial hair hid the lip part.

  Tyler eased Seth’s leg back onto the padded table. The pain in Seth’s knee changed to the good kind, signaling relief for the joint. His hip still throbbed, but it had been doing that since Sunday, when he took a nasty hit from a San Francisco tight end. It had cost him an interception and mobility. He’d spent most of his day off yesterday in his home gym, trying to rehab the muscles and ligaments. Now it was Wednesday, and if he didn’t get his pain under control, he’d land himself on the bench for the upcoming game against Arizona. He was having one of the best seasons of his career, and he didn’t want to waste a week sitting on the sidelines.

  “That bad?” Tyler probed the area with his fingers.

  “It’s an old injury from college.” Hey, look at that—he’d managed to make his voice sound relatively normal. “The hit I took aggravated it. Just need a couple days to heal and it’ll be fine.”

  Sure, a few days would do it, when it had been sore the better part of eleven years. It would get better during the off-season, but that was months away.

  “Flip over.” Tyler rotated his hand in a circle, indicating what Seth should do.

  Seth rolled to his stomach and settled back down, resting his head on his arms.

  “Let’s try ultrasound on this, see if that gives you any relief.” With a pat on Seth’s back, Tyler walked across the room, presumably to get a machine.

  Seth had tried ultrasound before—hell, he’d tried everything at some point except narcotics, because he hated what they did to his head—and it usually worked temporarily. But when he woke again tomorrow, he’d be hurting. Still, if Tyler could patch him up enough that he could practice for the rest of the week, he could get Toradol for the game and not have to sit out.

  Tyler returned with a rolling cart. He tucked a towel into the waistband of Seth’s shorts, which were pulled down so his ass hung out. After squirting some gel, which almost felt good since they kept it in a warmer, Tyler used the wand to spread it over the focal point of Seth’s pain.

  Using firm pressure, the trainer moved in slow circles over the area. The pressure hurt at first, causing Seth to tense his muscles and resume digging his teeth into his lips.

  “Try to relax,” Tyler said in a soothing voice. Then he chuckled. “I know, easy for me to say, right?”

  Seth grunted in agreement. Still, he relaxed his jaw and pulled his lips from between his teeth. Doing a full-body inventory, he mentally scanned himself from head to toe, progressively relaxing his muscles as he went.

  When his legs loosened, Tyler said, “There you go. Now this might actually do some good.”

  “It usually does. Until I wake up tomorrow morning.” Now that he’d gotten used to it, the warmth and pressure almost felt good.

  They chatted as Tyler continued his slow circles, letting the waves or vibrations, or something like that, do their thing with Seth’s body. The science of how it all worked had been explained to him a few different times, but it was over his head. Science hadn’t been his strongest subject in school.

  Carrie probably understood how it worked, why it loosened the tightness and pain that gnawed at his right side. For a moment, he imagined she was the one holding the wand, her other hand sliding back and forth over the small of his back. He could almost hear her voice explaining the technology to him.

  Shit. He needed to get her out of his head. It did him no good to obsess over her. The only female he should be thinking about was his daughter and how to bridge the widening gap between them.

  Other than Mads, he couldn’t afford to concentrate on anything but football. This aggravation of his bad hip did him no favors in trying to keep his starting job. Rookie linebacker Cedric Moore looked better and better every practice. Seth still had the advantage of experience at reading offenses and making adjustments. But Moore was a smart guy; he’d sharpen that tool soon enough.

  There was simply no room in his brain for a woman, and especially not one who worked for him.

  “You got a girlfriend?” Tyler asked.

  “What? Nah.” Seth shot a questioning look at the trainer. Was he reading Seth’s mind now? “Why?”

  “Some massage wouldn’t be a bad idea, but that’s a tough spot to reach on your own.”

  A thrill chased down the skin of his arms as he pictured Carrie standing next to his bed, her fingers digging into his flesh. He wouldn’t last two minutes before pulling her onto the bed with him and devouring her.

  “Just me and my daughter. I don’t see a twelve-year-old jumping at the chance to massage her dad’s ass.” Mads would run away screaming at the mere hint. “And pretty sure asking her nanny could get me sued.”

  Tyler chuckled. “The nanny cute?”

  Only if you’re a straight man with even remotely good taste. “Haven’t thought about it. She’s the nanny,” he lied.

  “Gotcha.”

  “Wait, you tellin’ me that hottie with you earlier wasn’t your girlfriend?” Marcus James’ voice drifted over from the next table. He was doing knee exercises with another trainer.

  “Carrie? No, she’s my daughter’s nanny.” Seth struggled to stay relaxed. He had no claim on Carrie, but that didn’t mean he liked the idea of her with one of his teammates.

  Or anyone else. Which made him an asshole, but he couldn’t help it.

  “Damn, man, hook me up.”

  No. He couldn’t do it. It would be bad enough if Carrie started dating someone else. Which she very well could. As sexy and smart and kind as she was, she should have her pick of men. It was only a matter of time before one of them showed up at his door to take her out. And he would hate it.

  He had no power to stop her from dating, but he didn’t have to set her up with his teammates. He wasn’t blind; he’d seen the interest in her eyes when she met Marcus earlier.

  “I’ll talk to her.” Another lie. He wasn’t going to ask Carrie if he could give the tight end her number. Besides, Jason would
have Seth’s head on a platter if he set her up with a football player.

  Yeah, that was the reason.

  “You assholes have all the luck.” Tyler set the ultrasound wand on the cart and used the towel to wipe up the gel. “Well, plenty of ice, alternating with heat. You know the drill. You’re not officially on the injury report, but I talked to Kearney, so he knows to take it easy on you.”

  Seth couldn’t stop himself from clenching his jaw. He didn’t want to be limited at practice. He’d practiced hurt before, and he could do it again. Hell, every player had something bugging him.

  If he was limited, he might not play. If he didn’t play, he had too much time to think about the two females in his life driving him crazy. The only time he had peace was on the football field. And now Tyler had told the linebacker coach to limit him.

  Fucking hell.

  Chapter 7

  Carrie was past disgusting. She’d passed it about a half hour ago, when the roots of her hair went from damp to wet. But she’d pushed on, biking until her legs felt like jelly.

  Another perk of living with Seth: she was going to be in phenomenal shape. He had more free weights in his basement workout room than the last gym she’d belonged to. Plus four weight machines, an exercise bike, a treadmill, an elliptical machine, a huge mat, a forty-seven-inch TV, and more home exercise accessories than the workout aisle at Target.

  She and Maddie had started doing yoga every morning before school, and Carrie usually followed it up with weights and cardio. Maybe it was knowing she would be wearing her skimpy Poison Ivy costume in another week, but today she’d pushed extra hard.

  And now she was sweaty and gross and had body odor strong enough to offend herself. She peeled off her damp clothes—even wicking fabric had been no match for today’s workout—pulled on her bathrobe, and headed back downstairs to Seth’s bathroom.

  It felt beyond weird to be in his bedroom wearing nothing but a short, thin robe, but they were having work done on the pipes in the bathroom she shared with Maddie. So for a few days they all had to shower in Seth’s.

  Fortunately, he was at the practice facility. It was Seth’s day off, but he’d still gone to get in a workout with the team trainer. And he said he preferred the weights at the stadium to his own. They must be phenomenal, because she was impressed with his setup.

  She hurried through the huge master bedroom, forcing herself not to look at the unmade king-sized bed. His bathroom was ridiculously large and fancy, with a walk-in shower bigger than the walk-in closet in her room, and a whirlpool tub big enough for at least two. Probably up to four, but that would be awkward.

  She’d intended to take a shower, but the bathtub almost seemed to call to her. She was hot and sweaty, sure, but how amazing would it feel to soak in that tub, let the hot water and jets soothe muscles aching from her new exercise regimen? There was even a huge bag of Epsom salt sitting on the counter.

  Which meant Seth must soak in that tub.

  She absolutely was not imagining his wet, naked body relaxed in there. Nope. Not at all. Her nipples were hardening because of…the stiff breeze in the room?

  Yeah, she was totally imagining it. And the idea turned her on, big time.

  Bathtub it was.

  She started the water, scooped in a generous amount of salt, and let her robe fall to the floor. As she pulled out her ponytail holder, she turned to her reflection in the wide mirror that hung over the double sink. Her flushed cheeks she could write off to exercise, but the blotchy pink covering her chest was pure arousal.

  Watching her reflection in the mirror, she lifted her hands and pinched each nipple. Pleasure shot to her belly and between her legs. Eyes drifting shut, she did it again. This time she couldn’t stop a soft moan from slipping out.

  Her eyes opened and she stared at herself as she pinched one more time. It felt so good. And it had been too long since she’d had a man touch her like this.

  Frustration simmering under her arousal, she turned away and climbed into the half-full tub. The heat seeped into her sore muscles, and it felt almost as good as playing with her nipples had. She moaned again.

  Soon, the tub was full and she was able to relax a little. Except the insistent pulse between her legs was a constant impediment. With the jets teasing her hypersensitive skin, she closed her eyes and let her imagination take over. One hand found her nipple again, the other slid down to cup between her legs. She exhaled a heavy sigh.

  She imagined Seth there with her, his mouth at her nipple and his hand between her legs. Her fantasies of late were always a variation on this, though she’d never imagined them in his tub before. But oh, she would love to slide her hands over his wet chest, press her lips to the hollow of his throat as he leaned back against the tub, as she did now.

  She could drag her mouth up to find his, and they could kiss. The way they had when he kissed her outside Maddie’s swim club. But so much more, because they’d be naked and she could straddle him and their bodies would slide together.

  And he could slide inside her, the way her fingers did now, and she could ride him and he could touch her and kiss her and overwhelm her with pleasure until her body came apart around him. And the orgasm would go on and on, intense and wonderful and everything she needed in that moment.

  Her fingers stilled and slipped from her body, her other hand flattening against her pounding heart. It never took her long to bring herself off when she pictured herself with Seth, but today might have been a record. It couldn’t have been even five minutes.

  Now her body felt truly relaxed, the muscles loose. She could doze off if she let herself. Which was a bad idea in the tub, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep her eyes closed for a few more minutes.

  As good as she felt, afterglow warming her from the inside while the water warmed her from outside, she knew she needed to stop indulging in fantasies of Seth. If she was going to get over her attraction to him, picturing him naked was the wrong approach. She’d gotten off plenty of times imagining her favorite celebrities; she should go back to that.

  Even better would be if she could meet someone who took her mind off Seth. Maybe she should ask Jason to set her up. Or Amy. Except Amy knew the same people she did, so she’d start with Jason. She could text him when she got out of the bath.

  Maybe he would even—

  The sound of the door opening, followed by footsteps, cut off her train of thought. Panic thumped her in the stomach as her eyes flew open.

  Affording her a prime view of Seth standing with his back to her, shower door open. The tub was at the far end of the room, the shower next to the door, so it wasn’t impossible that he hadn’t seen her when he walked in.

  She couldn’t stop herself from staring as he turned on the water. The man did have an amazing butt. And she was getting her best view of it yet.

  Because he was bare-ass naked.

  *

  —

  He needed a shower. Big time. He probably should have showered at the stadium instead of driving home in his gross, sweaty clothes, but he needed privacy today. He had things to take care of.

  Namely, the beginnings of a hard-on he’d developed during the drive home, courtesy of the fantasy he’d allowed himself to spin in his head about exactly what they could do in the hotel suite next weekend, if only Mads and her friend weren’t going to the convention too. He sure as hell wasn’t going to jerk off in the locker room shower. And after a punishing session with Tyler, then a grueling workout, he needed the release of an orgasm even before he’d let his imagination run wild.

  In his bedroom, he stripped out of his workout clothes and flipped them into the laundry basket. He headed for the bathroom and went immediately for the shower. He opened the glass door and stuck his hand in, twisting knobs to get the setting he wanted.

  All the while, his mind continued the hotel room scenario he’d been imagining. Sure, he’d already pictured himself coming twice. But the beauty of fantasies was he didn’t need recove
ry time. He could screw like a teenager on Viagra in his imagination.

  A yelp from the other end of the room had him spinning around, his heart jumping to his throat. For a long moment he stood frozen, staring.

  Carrie was sexier than even his generous fantasies had imagined. Only the tops of her breasts swelled out of the water, but he could see her dark pink nipples beneath the surface. Her legs seemed impossibly long, though that was probably a trick of the water. And between them, he could make out the dark red triangle of hair that he’d spent far too much time thinking about. He’d wondered if she was the same shade of fiery red down there as the hair on her head; now he knew she wasn’t. And it also answered the question of whether she waxed or went natural.

  Shit. As he gawked at her, he’d gone from half-mast to full boner. And she was gawking right back, reminding him that he was bare-assed naked.

  “Shit. I’m sorry.” He forced himself to turn away and grab a towel. He wrapped it around his waist, though the way it gaped away from his body did little to hide his arousal.

  He really hoped she was as turned on as he was.

  No, he didn’t. They weren’t supposed to want this. He clearly did, but maybe she found his reaction so offensive that it cured her of any remaining attraction she had for him.

  “No, I shouldn’t…it’s your bathroom.”

  He heard the water sloshing as she moved, and when he allowed himself a peek at her, she had drawn her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Between her legs and the side of the tub, he couldn’t see anything she hadn’t already displayed in his kitchen.

  He was not going to be the asshole who was disappointed by that. He’d invaded her privacy.

  Except he totally was that asshole. He’d really liked looking at her naked.

  “I’ll go.” He started backing toward the door. Except that gave her a prime view of his only slightly deflated cock, so he turned as he slapped off the water in the shower, then headed back to his room.