Scoring Chance

by Lane Martin

  "Eden is our nanny. She lives here." I think he said Eden, this is Ford, but all I heard was lives here as I stared at the most beautiful creature God ever created and confirmed she was undoubtedly naked sin, not forbidden fruit.

  Thanks to my terrific balance, quick reflexes, and excellent peripheral vision, I caught the red apple careening towards my head, and without looking away from her, I took a giant bite. The fruit was nothing to stop compared to the pucks that came flying at me at speeds of up to one hundred miles per hour. I sunk my teeth into it. Delicious. No doubt it wouldn't be the only thing that tasted so sweet. I couldn't wait for another bite. Only, I was no longer talking about the apple.

  I was relieved when Barrett introduced me as the nanny like we had previously discussed. Adelaide wanted to keep our arrangement private. I could understand why, so posing as the hired help was the perfect cover. Doing so not only protected her from others seeking handouts, but it also kept her intentions as pure as the woman herself. Adelaide Frazier was one of the most authentic people I had ever met. I was beyond lucky she’d picked me to help.

  When we were introduced, Rhett Crawford looked at me with an interest that was hard to miss. I’d been told it was a look I got quite often from men, not that I’d ever stopped to notice. It usually didn’t affect me, since I didn’t have the time or energy for relationship bullshit. Usually was the keyword, but it wasn’t the case this time. I watched with rapt attention as he caught and bit into the apple that Barrett threw across the room at full speed in his direction. And he did it all without taking his mesmerizing dark brown eyes off of me. I fixated on that apple. Juicy. I licked my lips. Ripe. I swallowed. Red. The color I knew my cheeks had turned. Delicious. Nope, not going to happen. I forced myself to turn away as I tried to calm my heated body. I didn’t have time for a hot guy, not to mention getting involved with one of Barrett’s teammates was a terrible idea.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ford. I’m going to head back over to my apartment. I have a paper to finish,” I fibbed as I attempted to make a hasty exit.

  “I thought you already—”

  I shook my head before Adelaide could complete her sentence. She knew darn well I was finished with my homework, but I had made that announcement before she told me one of the guys was hurt at the bachelor party and would be staying in one of the guestrooms while he recuperated. I should have asked who he was then. If I didn’t already know who he was, I could have looked him up before he arrived. Ford wasn’t someone I would have easily forgotten.

  “I just remembered I have something due for my Public Policy class.” Lies. All lies. I took that class last semester. I swear I heard Barrett say something about forbidden fruit as I bolted out the door wondering how I was going to avoid the sexy man sleeping in the downstairs bedroom.

  I had successfully avoided the main house for the rest of the day by staying holed up in my apartment watching Harry Potter movies, but now I couldn’t sleep and I needed a treat, but I didn’t dare keep ice cream in my own freezer. The temptation was too great, much like the one I was about to walk in on. Yet there I was, hours later, going into his room without even being asked. Stupid? Probably. But there I was anyway.

  One hand remained poised on the handle to the last bedroom in the world I should have been considering entering. My other hand covered my heart, which threatened to leap out of my chest. I’d almost convinced myself I was hearing things when I heard it again. The scenario reminded me of the first time I stood and the McGills’ front door. Talk about déjà vu.

  “You’re just checking on him,” I whispered to myself in the dimly lit hallway.

  I cleared the knot in my throat before softly knocking on his door and saying, “Ford?” The only thing I heard in response was incoherent, so I slipped inside his room and shut the door behind me. Adelaide mentioned earlier in a group chat with Kassie, that Ford had been bitten by a spider on the trip. It was almost comical to think such a small creature could cripple such a giant man. Not so amusing were the images I encountered of spider bites online. I spent hours researching his care needs, which was ridiculous since I’d spent the afternoon actively coming up with ways to steer clear of him. Nobody had ever looked at me the way Rhett Crawford did. It was hard to admit, but I liked it.

  “Ford?” I asked again, a little louder than before. He didn’t respond as I made my way to him.

  “No.” He thrashed in the bed, which nearly caused me to retreat, but I couldn’t ignore the pain etched in his voice. Moonlight softly illuminated his handsome face. “Beau!” he cried out as I sat on the edge of the bed and placed the back of my hand on his clammy forehead. He was burning up.

  “Ford,” I said with more urgency as I tried to wake him by shaking him gently. My choices were to grab onto to him or topple to the ground when he shot nearly straight out of bed, feverish and in a foreign place. “You’re okay,” I promised unsurely as I gripped his rock-like arms.

  “What the—? Eden?” I liked the way he sleepily said my name. I loosened my grip on his muscular biceps as he sank back into the pillows.

  “You were talking in your sleep.” I don’t know why I didn’t stand up once he was awake or why I put my hand back on his head. He was still burning up. He smiled at my touch but his upturned mouth fell on my next words. “Who is Beau?” The second the question left my mouth I regretted it. I had no right to ask. He met me once this afternoon, I was delusional to wish for my name to be on his lips in his sleep. I was the one who had invaded his slumber. I was also the one who should have been relieved he was dreaming of what I assumed was another man. It would have made things so much easier.

  “He’s—”

  I put my fingers over his lips. They were soft and wet despite his raised temperature. He didn’t owe me an explanation. It was none of my business.

  “Never mind. It’s not important. We need to get this fever down and get your foot elevated. I’ll be back in a second.” I quickly retreated, berating myself the entire time I was getting him a cold glass of water and something for his fever. It didn’t matter who Beau was. Ford was Barrett’s teammate. The man thrived in a place I could never go.

  “Here take these and drink this,” I stated, my palm outstretched to him. He’d switched on the bedside light and propped himself up on several pillows with the sheet folded down around his waist. His chiseled upper body glistened from the perspiration caused by the high temperature radiating from his body. Shit, the sight of his bare body was making me hot too. Beau, Beau, Beau, I chanted inwardly as he took the pills I offered him and popped them in his mouth. His eyes raked me over as he lifted the glass to his mouth with a raised brow. I wore short white shorts with closed eyes all over them and a matching t-shirt with two large closed eyes depicted by long eyelashes and the words “let me sleep” across my braless chest. Why did it feel like he was undressing me?

  “What can I say?” I shrugged as he smiled. “Coffee, chocolate, and sleep are life,” I explained as I tried to ignore the way his smile and bare chest made me feel warm all over. I was imagining things. Rhett licked his lips and I lowered my head to avert my eyes. Knowing me, I probably had food on my face or baby puke on my shirt that caught his gaze. Not to mention, he’d called out for a man in his sleep.

  “You live here?” He was as adorable as he was sexy, and it took everything in me not to smooth the back of my hand down his scruff covered face. He already knew the answer. Barrett had explained it to him when we met earlier today. Ford licked his lips after finishing the water I’d brought him and set the empty glass down on the table. Why was everything he did so enticing? I was only there to make sure he was all right. He was. I should have moved to leave, but I hadn’t.

  “In the apartment over the garage,” I offered with a shrug. Lord, why did Ford have to be so attractive? I wasn’t usually one of those girls, the ones who tripped all over themselves at the sight of a handsome man. “We should get your foot elevated, Ford.” I tried to concentrate on the r
eason I was here. I felt like a complete idiot as I moved to the end of his bed and stacked pillows for him to rest his swollen foot on.

  “My name is Rhett, not Ford, and you never told me exactly what I said in my sleep.” He raised both of his hands and linked them behind his head. I couldn’t help but look at his broad chest as he stretched with the movement. A thin line of hair disappeared below the sheet pooled around his waist. I hitched a breath and the cocky bastard grinned. He knew exactly what he was doing to me. It wasn’t fair. Not to me and especially not to Beau, whoever he was.

  “Rhett,” I said, like I was testing it. It was strong and sexy like the man in the bed. It fit, but I was still confused and, to be perfectly honest, a little upset. At him? At myself? Maybe both. I didn’t like the way he made me feel—flushed and foolish.

  I stopped fluffing pillows and placed my hands on my hips. “Then why does everyone call you Ford? And who is Beau?” His smile fell as I mentioned the name that had left him in his restless sleep. When he let out a tortured groan, I should have felt better knowing I had hit him where it hurt, but I didn’t. He lifted his leg onto the pillows before covering his eyes with one of his arms. I moved toward his bedside table and turned off the light. In the darkness, he grasped my hand and I stood frozen in place.

  He held my hand and the simple touch made my heart quicken. “I should go.” No, you never should have never been there in the first place. I didn’t know the man, yet something about him called to me. I should have ignored it and continued to avoid him, but much like Harry and Dumbledore were drawn to the mirror in Sorcerer’s Stone I was called to Rhett Crawford.

  “Beau was my brother.” His thumb caressed the top of my hand. I exhaled as his words sunk in. Was. His brother was dead? Maybe. Or possibly they were just estranged. Whatever the reason, the pain in his voice at the mention of his brother was evident. “Stay? Just till I fall asleep, Eden. Please.” How could I say no to that?

  “Just till you fall asleep.” It wasn’t like anything was going to happen. We’d just met, he had a fever, and we were in someone else's house. He needed someone to keep an eye on him, I reasoned. It was ridiculous. Who was I kidding? Mind already made up, I conceded. I attempted to move to the chair next to the nightstand, but realized the sexy-as-hell tormented man had other ideas as he pulled me into the bed beside him.

  “Thank you, Eden,” he whispered as I lay beside him and considered changing my list of favorite things. Sleep was overrated.

  “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” I blurted out as soon as the thought popped into my head. Sometimes I really needed a filter. Rhett chuckled beside me. His laugh was rich and robust. It might just replace coffee on my list of favorite things next to sleep.

  “Not many people pick up Beau and my names being from Gone with the Wind.” I detected a hint of pride in his tone that warmed me all over. “Go to sleep Eden. After all, tomorrow is another day.” Yes, yes it was.

  Rhett Crawford. I repeated his name over and over in my head. Even with my eyes closed, I couldn’t get his handsome face out of my mind or remove the stupid smile that had formed on my face. As we laid beside one another in the dark room he placed his soft lips to my temple and whispered, “Eden. Such sweet temptation,” before falling back to sleep with me curled up beside him.

  Heat was the first thing that registered in my sleepy brain. Then I took a deep breath and my nostrils filled with a decadent masculine scent. Holy shit. This couldn’t be happening. I moved my hand before I dared open my eyes. Yep, just as I feared: muscles. Lots of them. And they sure as hell didn’t belong to me. They began to move when he chuckled. A bright light filled the room and I was temporarily blinded.

  “You’re cute when you sleep.” The smug bastard smiled as I attempted to move away from the spot where I’d been curled up against his chest. In response, he pulled me closer. “But you drool a little. And I’m not the only one who talks in my sleep.” His laughter grew stronger as I continued to struggle.

  “Oh my God, this can’t be happening.” It was more to me than to him. He released me and I scrambled off the bed. I looked at my watch in shock. Holy shit, I’d slept for eight hours straight. How the heck did I fall asleep? And stay asleep? It wasn’t possible. For one, I barely even knew the guy, and for two, I never slept more than a few hours at a time.

  “Why not?” The smile fell from his face as I searched the room for an escape route, even though I knew darn well one didn’t exist. I looked at the time again and panic set in. By now, Barrett would be downstairs feeding the kids breakfast and Addie would be joining them any second. Telling Rhett the truth about my arrangement with Adelaide would have been the easy thing. Walking out his door and explaining to my benefactor that nothing had happened in Rhett’s room and begging for her to understand I had only gone in to check on him out of concern would have been the smart thing to do. But smart and easy weren’t the way I did things.

  “I’m the nanny,” I offered as a way of explanation before I opened the window and thanked my lucky stars the fall wouldn’t be far. If only I could say the same thing about my stupid feelings for Rhett Crawford.

  Eden told me we couldn’t happen, jumped out my window, and then proceeded to evade me as much as she could for the remainder of my time at McGills’ house. Over those two weeks I learned Eden was so much more than naked and sin. Don’t get me wrong, I still wanted to see her naked and I wanted to trace each curve of her sinful body with my tongue and fingers, but that was only the beginning. Eden was smart and sassy. She was witty and caring too. I wanted to know what she was thinking about when she chewed the end of her pen when she didn’t think anyone was watching. I wanted to make her laugh like she did when she played with the kids. I wanted to snuggle with her under a blanket and watch movies. Eden didn’t make getting to know her easy. She did her very best to avoid being alone with me. She did a pretty good job, but today Adelaide and Barrett would be distracted so they wouldn’t be able to help serve as a buffer between us. Now that I was back at my own place, I couldn’t wait to see her.

  I’d never been so confused by a girl—no, a woman. Eden was all woman and I longed to hear her moan my name again like she had when she was sleeping next to me. Only the next time she said my name that way, I wanted her to be awake—wide awake—and naked beneath me with my cock buried in her tight, wet pussy.

  I stroked my length as I imagined her throwing her head back, exposing the long column of her neck as she begged me to fuck her harder. I imagined her legs gripping me as I slammed into her repeatedly. “Fuck yeah,” I groaned as I pumped my shaft harder from root to tip. I hadn’t beaten off so much since I’d been an out of control teenager. I couldn’t get the thought of Eden riding my cock while her perfect tits bounced in my face out of my head. I’d thought about marking every inch of her body with my mouth more times than I could count. Each time I saw my bed, all I could think of was Eden on all fours begging me to smack her ass over and over again as I pounded into her.

  Moving my hand faster, I imagined what she could do with that mouth of hers. My grip remained firm as I quickly jerked my length up and down. She had the kind of plump and pouty lips other women paid ridiculous amounts of money to have. Her name left me like a prayer as I came surrounded by images of her in my mind. I couldn’t get her out of my head and the day had come when she wouldn’t be able to avoid me any longer: Barrett and Adelaide’s wedding day.

  Adelaide’s wedding to her first husband had been a huge show. From what Cap had said, she’d had no say in any of it, so she wanted to make sure she got exactly what she wanted this time.

  As a guy, talk of weddings typically made me tune out. But Eden had been helping with the planning so I’d paid attention; I needed all the help I could get with her. I tried talking to her. Her words said she wasn’t interested in me, but that wasn’t what her body said at all. I had never been this hung up on anyone and my infatuation with her made absolutely no sense, but it wasn’t something I was
willing to walk away from. Not yet anyway. I hoped we were like avocado and chocolate. It didn’t make sense, but together they were a delicious combination.

  The zoo was closed to the public for the evening, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t crowded. Adelaide and Barrett specially invited children from schools considered “disadvantaged” to be their special guests for the evening, going so far as to provide transportation to and from the venue for all.

  The reason for the special event was kept private. Invited guests, like the rest of the team and me, were advised to congregate at the upper level of the elephant exhibit at six o’clock. That was where I spotted Eden. Seeing her again felt like getting hit with a puck. It took the breath out of me. Not that she wasn’t always beautiful in her casual and effortless look. But tonight, she had obviously spent time on her outfit, hair, and make-up. Eden was stunning in a strapless pink jumpsuit and open-toed heels that I wanted perched on my shoulders while I sunk deep inside her.

  “I don’t know who the fuck that is, but she’s going to be screaming my name by the end of the night,” Niko rumbled next to me. I followed his gaze straight to Eden and growled, the animal in me coming out. Teammate or not, I’d feed him to the lions if he continued to look at her and make any more comments about her. The only name she was going to be screaming at the end of the night was mine.

  “I don’t think so,” was all I said before stalking toward her. As I crossed the space, I noticed all the other bastards eye-fucking her. I should have been mad at them, but the closer I got to her, the angrier I became with her.