Over the Fence: Lyssa Layne's Baseball Romances

by Lyssa Layne

  My heart races for two very different reasons. Tate just officially labeled us, which makes me feel giddy like a teenager, and while I’m ready to take our relationship to the next level, I don’t think I’m ready to face my demons of the past.

  CHAPTER 9

  Mia

  Sitting on the deck of Tate’s condo, I push my plate of pasta away. “I’m stuffed.”

  Tate doesn’t hesitate to pull my plate in front of him and finish it off. When I raise an eyebrow, he shrugs. “I need my carbs for energy.”

  Laughing, I take a sip of my wine. After an apology to Grant and Colie, Tate got our meals to go and we dined back at his place. To make up for his lack of attention from earlier, Tate’s hands haven’t left my leg, arm, hair… he doesn’t care where but he has to be touching me. It’s endearing, to say the least.

  His left hand lingers on my thigh as he eats with his right. I set my wine glass down and trace my finger over his hand resting on my leg. I take a deep breath. “I didn’t go to Stanford to be a pretty face. I wanted to start a business, make my own fortune with my brains, not my body.”

  Tate puts his fork down, giving me his full attention. He nods so I continue. “It wasn’t my idea to model, it was my ex’s, which is why I hate it even more. He insisted I do it and each shoot got more and more risqué. When he booked me for Playboy, I drew the line.”

  Tate’s jaw is tight as he shakes his head. I can’t tell if he’s trying to hide his surprise or his disgust. Finally, he mumbles, “Thank you.”

  Now it’s my turn to be surprised. He grins and pulls my chair to face him. His hands run over my jeans and he stares at them. “I guess you could say I’m possessive, which may be a reason I haven’t had many relationships. When I heard the guys say your name and then I saw that picture…” He shakes his head and squeezes my thighs. Following it with a laugh, he looks me in the eyes. “Fuck, Mia, I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but the thought of anyone else seeing you like that… ” He shakes his head and leans back taking his hands with him then saying, “Hell, I haven’t even seen you like that!” He gives a nervous laugh at the end of that statement and it’s so innocent I can’t help but join him.

  I stand up and move to his lap taking a seat. “We can change that…”

  He doesn’t miss a beat, sliding his hand under my tank top, but he gives another innocent, surprised look. “Are you sure?”

  To answer, I pull my tank top over my head, tossing it on the pool deck. His hands are anxious like a teenager as they slide over every inch of my torso. Leaning down, I push his head to the side so I can suck and nibble on his neck, which meets me with a happy murmur of delight.

  “Mia, I love your touch,” he mumbles.

  In response to his declaration, I stand up.

  “Hey!” he pouts.

  I lean down, my breasts in his face and I can feel his breath between my cleavage. “One for one…” I say and see him gulp. I tug on his shirt and he laughs, letting me pull it off him. Smiling at the six-pack in front of me, I run my hands over his taut abs remembering how much I love baseball players’ upper bodies. “Much better…” I mutter and pull him to stand and kiss me.

  Before he lets our lips touch again, he grips my hips tightly, forcing me to stop and look at him. “Mia,” he speaks low. “This isn’t a short-term deal. Like you’ve said before, the physical attraction between us is strong, but you do more for me. From the day I met you, I wanted more. I wanted to know more about you and be around you more. I’m not perfect, hell, I’m far from it, but you make me want to be more… for you. More considerate, more patient, more passionate, more everything! Mia, you’re going to make me be the man I need to be. I’m warning you now in case you want to run.”

  My heart races faster with each of his words. I can totally relate to what he’s saying because I feel the same way yet at the same time it frightens me more than anything. I figured I’d find another man one day, but this…this is too soon.

  Tate frowns when I don’t respond. I move my lips back to his neck. No need to ruin the moment with my insecurities. However, it’s not enough for him.

  “Mia, tell me what you’re thinking.”

  I sigh. “I’m scared,” I say and he starts to take a step away. “Not because of you, Tate, because of me. I have a history of bad relationships so it’s hard to be positive that this won’t turn out like the others.”

  Tate smiles. “Well, I’ll do everything I can so that history doesn’t repeat itself.”

  Looking into his eyes, I’m shocked at how easily I believe his words. My feet move one step away from him and his eyebrows slant in confusion. With a coy smile, I unzip my jeans and shimmy out of them. His eyes get wide and he quickly does the same. Both of us standing on the pool deck in just our undergarments. I step to him, my hands on his chest and kiss him hard.

  “I promise I won’t run, but for right now, can we please pick up where we were interrupted?”

  Tate rolls his tongue over mine and nods his head. “I like that idea.”

  “Good.” I press my lips against his one more time. Then with both my hands on his chest, I give one hard push and he falls backwards into the pool, laughing.

  Tate

  Water engulfs me as I float underwater. I swear this woman never ceases to amaze me. Surfacing, I toss my head back and laugh. “You have five seconds to get in here too or else I’m coming after you!”

  The beautiful goddess in front of me laughs as she pulls out her hair tie and her chocolate locks fall over her shoulders. Standing before me in a sheer lace bra and panties, it doesn’t leave much to the imagination, but I’m greedy and I want to see more.

  Ever so gracefully, Mia leans forward and dives into the pool barely making a splash. She glides underwater and I feel her hands on my thighs. I pull her above the water against me. She grins and those mysterious grey eyes are framed by the longest eyelashes. Pulling her toward me, she moves her legs around my waist and we kiss. Her hips grind against my erection and I start to groan. I need her… right now. “Truth or dare,” I mumble between kisses.

  Mia gives me a lazy smile. “Dare.”

  I grin, this is exactly what I wanted her to pick. “Lose an article of clothing.” I start to slide her bra straps off her shoulders. Instead, her legs let go of my waist and she takes a step back, her hands disappearing below the water. I chuckle, of course, she’s going to torture me. Her hand grazes against my hard on, which is about to bust out of my boxers.

  Her wet panties dangle from her index finger as she smirks. “Truth or dare.”

  Two can play at this game and I’m not about to get naked first so I answer, “Truth.”

  She frowns and starts to swim away in the opposite direction. Fuck, that’s not what I want. No, I want her wrapped around me again. I want to feel her lips on mine. I want her—now.

  She stretches her arms along the edge of the pool and kicks her feet up. She’s almost naked and yet I still can’t see her. Raising her eyebrow, she doesn’t say anything but I can tell what she wants. I walk toward her, pulling my underwear off as I do. When I get to her, I pull my boxers out of the water and throw them on the deck behind her.

  “I like this kind of truth,” she says with a giggle and her legs open for me to stand between them.

  I don’t waste another second. My left hand goes to her neck as I kiss her, while my right hand slides one bra strap off her shoulder and I push the material off her breast so I can finally see her perky flesh that I’ve been dreaming of. My mouth moves to it and I suck on her nipple while my hand continues between her legs. My free hand massages her other breast as I pull her bra down.

  My hand finds what had been covered by her panties. My index finger slides between her lips and I gently press my thumb against her. I move my mouth from her chest to look into her eyes. I want to see what she looks like in ecstasy. She tilts her head back and closes her eyes. A small gasp escapes from her lips and I whisper, “Yeah, baby, let me take c
are of you.”

  Mia leans forward and kisses me impatiently, twisting her hips against my hand. I slide another finger in as we kiss. I may not sleep around but I still know how to pleasure a woman, I’ve had plenty of practice. Other times when I’ve done this to another woman, it was to return the favor, but this time, I want nothing more than to pleasure Mia more than she ever has been before. I feel her clenching around my fingers and I grin, leaning my forehead against hers. I’m surprised when her hand reaches for mine to stop.

  “Tate, I want you,” she says in between her short breaths.

  I nod. “You will, baby, let me finish this for you.”

  She shakes her head, wiggling her hips away from me and pulling my hand up. “I want you to do that for the first time,” she says urgently and strokes me under the water.

  I was already hard before, but her hand finally touching me like that, so intimately and I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold back myself. Plenty of other women have done that in the past but the way Mia touches me is gentle, soft, and it’s the only touch I ever want to feel again. What the… I shake my head at the thought. Slow down, Tate!

  “Mia, the condoms are upstairs. Let me finish you here and then—”

  “It’s okay, Tate, I’m on the pill. Please… ” She says this with such a sense of urgency, my erection about to explode already, that I nod and lift her hips up as she wraps her legs around me again. I will do anything this woman asks me, even if I know it’s against my better judgment.

  Her hands gripping the edge of the pool while mine hold her hips and pull her to me, I slide into her ever so slowly knowing that this isn’t going to last long. It’s been exactly five years since I’ve been intimate with a woman like this. I want to close my eyes so I can fully enjoy this, but I can’t take them off her. She bites her bottom lip softly as though she’s holding in her pleasure, which is the last thing I want. I kiss her cheek and whisper, “Don’t hold back, Mia, please don’t hold back.”

  She looks up at me and nods. Her legs grip tighter around me and time stands still as the two of us slowly glide back and forth together, our eyes locked, not a care in the world except taking care of each other. Slowly, she moves one hand to my neck, holding herself up and then the other joins it. She begins bouncing up and down on me and I can’t hold back. “Mia, I’m about to… ” I moan as I start to throb inside her. I need to pull out. I know it’s not an effective way to prevent pregnancy and she said she was on the pill, but I can’t come inside her.

  Her lips gently touch mine and then with a sudden swivel of her hips, I can’t hold back any more and I explode deep inside her. “Mia!” I cry out as she joins me in orgasm and she hugs me tightly with her entire body.

  We both begin to relax as we finish and she rests her head on my shoulder. I’m still holding both of us up as I make my way to the stairs to sit down. She mumbles softly, “That was amazing, Tate.” Then she lightly kisses my chest where her head lays.

  My hand rubs her back and I smile. It was more than amazing; it was perfect and now that I’ve had a taste of her, I want more.

  CHAPTER 10

  Tate

  A soapy, handsy shower and another orgasm each and we’ve finally made it to my bed. A naked Mia lies beside me on her back with her wet hair in a towel as I nuzzle her neck, taking in my Polo body soap on her skin. We’ve spent the past couple months getting to know each other’s personalities, but tonight we’re getting to know each other’s bodies and we’re both loving it.

  I’ve learned that she makes this noise that’s a mix between a purr and a moan when she’s turned on. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite sounds. The noise fills my ears as I kiss the freckle hidden behind her ear. With my hands on her hips, I roll on my back pulling her on top of me, the towel falling off her head.

  Sliding my hands over her flat stomach, I take a breast in each hand and squeeze. I sit up and suck on each nipple, eliciting that purr-moan again as she grinds her hips on my manhood. I sit back against the headboard and squeeze her breasts again. “You were meant for me. See? They fit perfectly,” I say with a laugh. Her breasts are perky and beautiful, somehow I imagined her breasts to be smaller with her tiny waist but she’s definitely at least a C-cup.

  Leaning forward, she playfully pulls on my bottom lip and nods. “Yep, these are just for you.”

  Her tongue rolls over mine and her hips rise. I run my hand down her back and lightly slap her backside which makes her purr-moan again, making me even harder. Mia’s hand slides down my chest and she strokes me gently. When she starts to guide my erection between her legs, I scoot up out of her reach. With a confused look on her face, she sits back on my thighs and gives me the sexiest pout I’ve ever seen.

  I laugh as I sit up to give her a kiss. “Condom, babe.”

  Her hands roam over my chest and I enjoy the tingles that shoot over my body.

  “Aren’t you Mr. Safety?” she says with a raised eyebrow.

  My stomach rolls and I know it’s time to come clean. I swallow hard before I open my mouth to speak. “Mia…I don’t want to take any chances,” I say chickening out.

  Her hands stop moving and she looks me in the eyes with a slight frown. “I thought it’d been years since you’d been with anyone?”

  I nod. “Five to be exact.”

  She stiffens and leans away from me. “Tate, I’ve told you in the last eight years, I’ve only been with my ex. I get tested regularly because he was a cheating bastard and I’ve always been clean. It’s been…” I see her hesitate and her face softens. “I understand, that’s fine.”

  She stands up and goes to the bathroom to get the condoms. I drag my fingers down my face. Fuck. Because I can’t be a man and just tell her the truth, I just implied that she sleeps around. When she walks back to the bed, I sit up and pat the mattress for her to sit beside me.

  “Mia, I don’t think…” I can’t even bring myself to say the words that I implied, which makes me feel like an even bigger dick.

  She smiles and runs her hand over my thigh. “It’s okay, I get it.”

  Closing my eyes, I let her hand move up and down my thigh relaxing me. When it moves to my inner thigh, I put my hand on top of hers and stop her. “I’ve got a son.”

  She doesn’t move her hand. I look at her for a reaction and am completely confused by what I see. Tears, she has tears in her eyes which look lost and lonely. I thought she’d be pissed at me for not telling her or be scared off, but instead she looks heartbroken and I want to pull her into my arms and console her, except I’m not exactly sure why she’s so upset.

  “How old is he?” Mia asks, her voice cracking.

  I thread my fingers through hers and run my thumb over the back of her hand. Then I pull her against me; her head rests on my chest and my other hand runs through her hair. This is not how I saw this going at all, but I guess it’s better than the alternative. Now’s the time to tell the truth.

  “His name is Toby and he’s four, five this summer. When I got called up to the Minutemen, I thought I’d made it. I had a multimillion dollar contract, I was getting paid to do what I love, I had women whenever I wanted, and I let the power and the fame make my decisions for me. I messed around with a lot of women that first year in the big leagues, but only slept with a select few. That Christmas, I got a card in the mail with an ultrasound picture and a note where to meet. At first I thought it was some kind of sick joke but curiosity got the best of me. I went to the diner listed on the card and I immediately recognized a woman that I’d slept with after our last home game. I didn’t have a condom on me the night we were together and she’d told me she was on birth control. I still don’t know if she lied or it just didn’t work or what. Either way, that summer my son was born.”

  “Your son? Don’t you mean ‘our son’?”

  I shake my head. “She was twenty-one and still in school. She didn’t want a kid so we went to court and she signed over all guardianship to me. I didn’t know what the
hell I was doing either, but I wasn’t about to let the kid get into the system, I mean fuck, I was making more than ten-grand to play one game.” I break and laugh at a memory. “I remember holding him right after he was born and thinking, what the hell have I gotten myself into? At the same time, I wondered if I’d ever experience something so amazing and life-changing as holding a tiny human in my arms. He had my heart from the second I saw him.”

  I hear Mia sniffle and I kiss her head. I always knew women loved babies and were emotional, but I’m still shocked at her reaction.

  “Is he moving to L.A.?”

  Now it’s me that has tears to blink back. “Not right away, one of the many reasons I was so pissed at the trade. My parents moved to Milwaukee when he was born and have helped me raise him. My mom is staying there with him until I’m settled and ready for them to come down.”

  Mia doesn’t move against me, no tears, no talking, nothing. We sit in silence until I can’t stand it anymore. “Mia, Toby’s mom was the last woman I slept with because I’m afraid to be a father again. I’m doing the best I can with my son, but I know it’s not enough.” I trail my finger down her arm and let out a low laugh. “That’s why I’m Mr. Safety.”

  She finally moves and sits up, looking into my eyes. Tears run down her face. Moving my hand to her cheek, I kiss her lightly and wipe them away. Mia leans back and her words are like a punch in the gut.

  “Tate, I’m not on birth control.”

  Mia

  Tate is out of bed and across the room the moment he registers my words. It’s as though I have the plague. I can see a vein pulsing in his forehead as his face turns red with anger. I need to explain, and fast.