She removed her shoes and glanced at her phone for the hundredth time. Thankfully, she’d called Michael before it had gotten too late. She liked talking to him before he went to bed.
Kari would have to think fast about what to do when Thane slept off his mistake.
She should have done her research. She should have at least Googled him to see what he planned on doing during his stay in Virginia.
One thing she did know. His behavior that night did not fit the person she admired. Kari had seen Thane in practice and on the field. He played with an intensity she hadn’t seen in a young player. It impressed her enough that Thane had done so little time at Carolina Wrens farm team before making pros.
In past interviews, his coaches had described him as a solid pitcher, a good team player, a reliable member of the Wren family. A person like that wouldn’t go on a bender like the lump she’d left on the bed. A part of her wanted to chalk it up to his young age.
No, his state tonight had to do with the funeral and the loss of his mother. She understood that. Kari had made questionable decisions herself after she’d lost her beloved grandfather.
Now that Thane slept soundly, Kari decided to get some sleep herself. The long drive down had zapped her of her strength. Wrestling with a drunk man, a sexy one at that, had drained the rest of her power. She padded over to the closet by the door and found a pillow and an extra blanket. Before going back to the couch, she crept over to the bedroom and poked her head inside to check on Thane.
He remained motionless as he slept. As she scanned his body, she wondered if she should have removed his shirt or socks, maybe loosened his belt. Kari figured if she jostled him too much, he would become that octopus again and want to continue what he’d started at the door.
Kari returned to the couch and removed her shoes. She curled her legs under her and put the pillow down before she reclined back and closed her eyes. She would have a lot of explaining to do in the morning.
* * * *
The pounding in Thane’s head and the twisting in his gut woke him up and became more intense. Blinking hurt. Breathing pained his entire being. It felt like someone had beaten his midsection with a baseball bat all night long.
What the hell had he done? He sat up and scanned his clothes. As soon as he spied the black slacks, he remembered. The funeral. The drinking. Had he kissed someone? He ran his hand over his mouth. When he exhaled, he caught the scent of his stale breath. He winced.
“Never again.” Thane removed his socks and tossed them to the floor.
He stood, but had to sit down almost immediately because he felt woozy. He took that moment to unbutton his shirt and remove his belt. He braced his hands on his knees. A hot shower would do him good if he could stand for that long.
Thane took his time getting to his feet again. He no longer felt any pain or unsteadiness. He undid his pants and let them and his jockey shorts drop to the tan-carpeted floor. He padded to the bathroom. As soon as his feet touched the marble flooring, his shoulders slumped down. The coolness eased his nerves.
He turned the shower faucet and allowed the water to heat up while he took care of his biological needs. He caught his reflection in the mirror above the sink. His pallid complexion told a tale of his bad choices. He needed a shave.
While the room steamed up, he brushed his teeth. He couldn’t stand the feel of his tacky mouth. Even his tongue felt thick, like it had on a fur coat. Thane made sure to scrub it down and rinse his mouth with two capfuls of antiseptic mouthwash.
Now that he felt closer to being human, he jumped into the shower stall. He stood underneath the streaming water. He wanted all the bad memories from the funeral to be flushed down the drain. He scrubbed body wash over his flesh.
Later that day, he would need to meet with his brothers again for the reading of his mother’s will. He could care less what he would receive from Elizabeth’s estate. Moneywise, he had what he needed.
Thane shaved his face. Maybe if he looked presentable, his brothers wouldn’t give him a hard time about overindulging. Hell, hadn’t they made mistakes in their pasts?
He rinsed himself and turned off the shower. He stepped on the bath mat and wiped his feet while he dried his body. To see his reflection, he swiped his hand over the mirror to remove the condensation. Bits and pieces of last night started to come into focus. He remembered talking to Gideon right before he jumped into the limo to go back to the hotel.
He started remembering flashes of light once he hit the lobby. Cameras. Reporters. They shot questions at him about his career and his mother. The inquiries about his mother got his blood boiling. Now he understood why Gunnar chose to be a mixed martial artist. He probably released a lot of stress that way.
He couldn’t discern if the next bit he recalled had happened for real or in his dreams. Either way, he’d enjoyed it. A sexy woman had pulled him into the elevator. His memory went fuzzy on whether or not they’d made out there. Then, when they got out of the elevator, she’d run her hands all over his body. Thinking about that now had his dick getting hard.
He couldn’t remember what she looked like other than she’d been an African-American woman. She had skin like gold. That part he believed he imagined because of the alcohol. Her brown almond-shaped eyes had seemed like they could see through to his soul. Again, he chalked that feeling up to the gin, vodka, and rum he’d downed. Her lips and how they felt against his burned in his brain.
Damn, he wished he’d been sober if this woman had been real. Considering what he had going on in his life right now, he didn’t need any complications. She needed to remain a dream woman.
Thane glanced at the digital clock on the wall. He’d slept a lot longer than he thought he would. He stepped out into his bedroom. Sunlight streamed through the curtains, bathing the room in a warm glow. He had time for some breakfast. He needed to call down to room service to see if they’d send him up some eggs with lots of hot sauce to combat his hangover.
He strolled into the main living area of his hotel room and stopped. He never suspected he would have a woman sitting on the couch staring at him while he stood there naked.
Chapter 6
Kari should have excused herself. As soon as she saw him getting out of bed and going to the bathroom—naked—she should have walked out of the room and knocked on his door a few minutes later, acting like she hadn’t been there all night. No way would he remember seeing her last night, or that she’d helped him to his room.
Like with the funeral she’d crashed, she couldn’t tear herself away. The reason this time had more to do with her work than her burgeoning fascination with his hard body and impressive lower half.
Either Thane felt comfortable with his nudity or he couldn’t move from shock. He remained still, staring at her.
“Uh, hi.” He ran his hand over his wet hair, which had transformed into an even darker shade, making his eye color stand out more.
Kari kept her stare directed on his eyes to avoid scanning him from the waist down. Looking at his muscular chest with complementing toned arms led her gaze down to his hard abdomen, and it didn’t take long for her stare to gradually drop down to his genitals, the same ones she’d touched, both by accident and when he’d pressed her hand against him.
“Hi.” She pushed the blanket she’d used to cover her body off to the side. “I hope you don’t mind. I took the liberty of ordering coffee and something for you to eat. You probably didn’t do a lot of that yesterday.”
Kari stood. She hoped when he saw her in her black A-line dress that he would view her as a professional and not some groupie or worse.
“Um, thanks.” He glanced around the room. He stopped when he spotted the dining room table full of food.
She’d thought he would search for it as soon as he came out of the bathroom. The hotel had given him a full pot of what smelled like hazelnut coffee. Since she didn’t know what kind of appetite he would have, she’d ordered an assortm
ent of food, including scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, wheat toast, potatoes, fruit, and various breads and pastries. Something had to hit his fancy.
Trying to still be accommodating, she said, “I can prepare a plate for you if you like.”
Thane regarded her for a moment, looked at the food, and brought his attention back to her again. “I don’t know how this works. Do you need money or something?” He scanned the floor, probably looking for his wallet.
So much for appearing like a professional. To Thane, she apparently looked like a different type of working girl. Great.
Kari balled her hands into fists as she slipped her feet back into her black platform heels. “I can see you don’t remember me.”
He shook his head but kept direct eye contact with her. “I don’t. Did I meet you at the funeral? Or was it down at the bar?” He scratched his head.
She could almost see the wheels spinning in his head. “I saw you at the funeral, but we didn’t meet there.” She cleared her throat. “Mr. Wells, would you like to put on some pants or cover yourself up with a towel or something?”
He furrowed his eyebrows that didn’t look like they had been plucked or professionally shaped. “Why? Didn’t we have sex?”
She brought her gaze up to the ceiling. As soon as he said the word sex, she wanted to look down at what dangled between his muscled thighs. His legs looked like an artist had carved them out of marble. “No, we didn’t.”
“Oh.” He let that sink into his head before his eyes widened. “Oh. Excuse me.” He went to a waist-high dresser and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a clean pair of underwear that he slipped on first. He then went to a closet and retrieved a pair of jeans.
Even in jeans, he looked good enough to eat. Kari loved seeing a man with a defined stomach and a set of muscles that trailed down to his pubic area. Thane had that. He had a lot of things she admired.
As soon as she felt her tongue snaking out of her mouth to lick her dry lips, she drew it back in and wiped the sides of her mouth.
She’d been in rooms with half-naked athletes before. This one shouldn’t be different. Kari couldn’t explain it, but something about Thane bucked every stereotype she knew.
“Sorry about that. I mean, I apologize.” He slipped a pullover charcoal gray sweater over his head and padded back to the living room area. “Okay, so we didn’t have sex and we didn’t meet in a bar or at the funeral. Who are you and what are you doing in my hotel room?” He crossed his arms over his chest as he stood a few feet from her.
Kari took a deep breath and smiled. Thankfully, she had mints in her purse that she popped in her mouth while he showered. She’d used her handy dandy morning-after kit she kept with her to freshen herself a bit. She had wiped off her old makeup and put on new eyeliner, lipstick, and blush. She’d combed her shoulder-length hair, trying to revive some of the curl it had yesterday. After she misted body spray over her bare legs and arms, she felt presentable, not perfect. She would have rather met him at the top of her game, but this morning would have to do.
She extended her hand to him. “I helped you to your room last night when you returned in the limousine.”
He graciously shook it. Although his manners seemed welcoming, he hadn’t smiled the entire time.
“Thank you. You work here at the hotel?” He stared at her.
For a brief moment, he dropped his gaze to their joined hands. Maybe he felt the electricity that ran from his hand into hers. She didn’t want to let him go. Not yet. The touch along with his incredibly penetrating stare kept her transfixed.
“Ma’am?”
Damn it. She’d done it. She’d been drawn into his spell.
“Yes.” She pulled her hand back. “I mean, no, I don’t work at the hotel. I’m an agent.”
He cocked his head.
“We’ve spoken before. My name is Kari Meyers. I work at the Winning Edge Agency. We understand that your current agent, Alec Fogel, is about to retire. I’d like to—”
“Wow, you have some nerve, lady.” He turned his back on her. “Didn’t mean to interrupt your speech. You go from constant calls to breaking and entering. I can’t believe you tricked your way into my hotel room so that you can try and convince me to sign with you.” He pulled out a pair of socks from a bottom drawer and returned to the living room where he sat on the couch.
“I didn’t trick you.” She sauntered closer to him, which didn’t help.
He bolted to his feet and went to his bedroom area. On the way, he picked up the clothes he’d strewn over the floor last night.
“Word has gotten to all agents about you.” She followed him as he deposited his dirty clothes into a makeshift hamper.
He picked up a pair of shoes from the closet and returned to the same location on the couch. “So you think that gives you the right to come here and ask me to sign with you? Do you know what I’m going through right now?”
“To be honest, I didn’t until I arrived in town. I was kind of wondering why you weren’t at training camp.” She smiled, hoping to lighten the mood.
It didn’t work. He snatched his wallet from the coffee table and peered through it, making sure she hadn’t stolen anything. First he’d thought he had a call girl in his room. Now he’d practically likened her to a petty thief. Could she be humiliated any more than that?
“Ms. Meyers—”
“You can call me Kari.”
Thane chuckled. “I guess that would make sense considering you’ve seen every part of my body.” He stepped into his shoes. “Even if Alec was leaving, what makes you think I would sign with another agency instead of staying where I am?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “For one, I would protect your interests more than your old agency.” She squared off against Thane. “It took me no time to find you. I know you’re new at this celebrity thing, but you should never ever check into a hotel under your real name. Always use an alias.”
Thane gritted his teeth as he glared at her. He said nothing.
She continued. “When I got to the hotel, the lobby was full of reporters. So they did the same thing I did. They called the most expensive hotels and found you. I pretended to be one of them until I saw you stumbling in.”
He dropped his gaze to the floor.
“You looked like a man in need of some help. So I wielded some authority and acted like I represented you to get you to your room.” She took a step closer to him, encroaching in on his personal space. This time he didn’t move. “Once I got you to your room, I found your key and I—”
“Did I touch you?” He lowered his voice.
Kari swallowed. “It doesn’t matter what happened. I knew you weren’t your true self yesterday.”
“No, tell me. Did I touch you? Did I do anything inappropriate?” He scratched his head. “I can only remember bits and pieces from last night. Images of you come in and out of focus. One thing is clear. Something happened between us. I don’t remember what.”
She sighed. “Fine. You kissed me.”
She heard Thane cursing under his breath. After years of becoming so jaded in her business, she found it refreshing to be with a man who felt some guilt after his questionable behavior.
Calm down, heart. He’s hung over. He didn’t turn into the pope.
“Although we didn’t have sex, you offered it several times.” She would leave out the part where he forced her to touch his package. “I guided you to bed, took off your shoes, and stayed here while you slept to make sure you would be okay. That’s what a good agent would do, look out for your best interests.”
Thane looked around and stopped when he saw a hotel phone on an end table.
“What are you doing?” Kari didn’t want him calling hotel security or worse, the police. She hadn’t broken in to his room. She’d helped him.
“Calling the police.” He glanced at her. “On myself. I shouldn’t have touched you.”
She blinked. She ha
d been hit on by all types of athletes. Some sober athletes had done worse things to her than what Thane had done. This man wanted to be punished for his crimes. Her heart pumped harder for his gentlemanly gesture. A true man would own up to his mistakes and try to make amends.
Kari rushed to him and attempted to take the receiver from his hand. “You don’t have to do that.”
He moved it away from her. “I can’t remember what I did, but if you say I was inappropriate, I believe you. I wasn’t myself yesterday for obvious reasons. That’s no excuse for me to push myself on you.” He put his hand to his chest. “I apologize. But I’m serious. I’m turning myself in. I wouldn’t put you through a trial or anything. I would confess my guilt and suffer the consequences.”
She stood stunned for a moment before she spoke. “Even if it meant it could ruin your professional baseball career?”
He nodded without even waiting to think about his answer. “Baseball is meant to be family entertainment. Kids should look up to the players. I wouldn’t want a boy thinking that it’s okay to get drunk and force himself on a girl. It’s not right. So, yes, even if it meant I couldn’t play a sport I love, I would still do the right thing.”
Kari slammed her finger down on the phone cradle to disconnect the call. “Don’t do this. I’m fine.”
“I’m not.” He attempted to release her finger, but she refused to be moved.
The sincerity in his eyes let Kari know that Thane hadn’t given her a line. He hadn’t said what he’d said to get into her panties. He truly believed in God, family, baseball, and apple pie. His genuine nature came off as refreshing and honest. It had been a long time since Kari had been with a man who willingly admitted his faults and tried to make things right. For a moment, she didn’t know how to respond to him.
“I chalked up your behavior to the alcohol. I appreciate your readiness to do the right thing. I don’t know many men who would offer to do the same thing, especially professional athletes. I would expect you to call your attorney or manager or try to pay me off.”
Head Over Heels Page 8